Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are engaged in relief and rescue operations in rain-hit Himachal Pradesh and termed the loss of lives due to the deluge as "extremely distressing".

At least 29 people were killed in Himachal Pradesh, nine of them buried under the rubble of a temple after a landslip in Shimla, as rains wreaked havoc in the state, triggering landslides that blocked key roads and brought down houses, officials said on Monday.

"The loss of lives due to heavy rains and landslides at various places in Himachal Pradesh is extremely distressing. NDRF teams are engaged in relief and rescue operations along with the local administration.

"I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. May God give them the strength to bear this sorrow. I wish for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said on X (formerly Twitter).

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