NEW DELHI: About 20 people have been killed in India’s northern state of Himachal Pradesh over the past 24 hours, following landslides triggered by heavy rains over the past couple of days, Xinhua news agency reported, told Bernama.

As a precautionary measure, all schools, educational institutions and main roads in the hilly state have been reportedly shut on Tuesday.

Hundreds of people, including some tourists, have been stranded in different parts of the state. Heavy rains have been forecasted for the next few days.

Four members of a family were killed in a landslide in Kandaghat subdivision in Solan district, the New Delhi Television (NDTV) quoted state officials as saying.

A boy was swept away in the swollen Kaushalya river near Parwanoo as eight people died in rain-related incidents in the district.

Landslides killed three people in Mandi district while traffic was disrupted for several hours on the Chandigarh-Shimla, Shimla-Nahan, Chamba-Pathankot and Mandi-Pathankot highways.

A senior official said 923 roads were closed due to landslides, including six national highways and they were attempting to open the roads for traffic as soon as possible.

Baijnath town in Kangra district recorded a record 235 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours, while Palampur town recorded 212 mm, the report added.