Wall collapses as lightning strikes Har Ki Pauri ghat in Haridwar; five killed in cloudburst in Pithoragrh

An 80 feet wall near the iconic Har Ki Pauri, a famous ghat on the bank of the Ganga in Uttarakhand's Haridwar town, collapsed after a lightning strike late on Monday night.

A transformer at the Bramhakund, near the ghat, was also completely damaged by the lightning strike, according to the reports. There was no loss of life, the officials said adding that the repair works were being undertaken on a war footing.

Har Ki Pauri is famous for its evening 'Ganga Arti' and people from across the country visit the town to witness the same.

Torrential rains across the hill state of Uttarakhand wreaked havoc in the higher reaches of some districts in the Kumaon region killing five people and damaging scores of houses.

According to the reports five people were killed after their houses were flattened, when a huge amount of water with stones and mud came down the hills following a cloud burst in the state's Pithoragarh district, about 450 kilometres from the capital city of Dehradun.

As many as 11 people were reported to be missing at Tala and Gaila villages in the district and a search was launched to trace them, reports said. Three bodies had so far been extricated from the debris of the collapsed houses.

Reports said that large scale landslides triggered by heavy rains have destroyed several roads near Munsiyari, Bangapani and other places cutting off dozens of villages from the district headquarters.

Senior officials had reached the affected villages and relief and rescue operations were on, reports said.