Heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh have claimed eighteen lives and hundreds remained stranded across the state after incessant rainfall triggered landslides and snapped road links.Three persons were killed in Mandi district in landslide incidents, while a boy was washed away in the swollen Kaushalya river near Parwanoo in Solan district.According to reports five persons were buried under a landslide near Chakla village in Kandaghat in Solan district. One of them reportedly died. Rescue work is still on.The Chandigarh-Manali National Highway-21 has been closed for vehicles near Mandi town. Likewise, the Chandigarh-Shimla National Highway-5 was hampered near Jabli town in Solan district.The Mandi-Pathankot, the Chamba-Pathankot and the Shimla-Nahan national highways were blocked by landslides.Movement of vehicles in Kinnaur district remained suspended since a large stretch of the Hindustan-Tibet Road has been under landslides at several points.Due to bad Himachal weather, all schools and educational institutes in Shimla, Solan, Kullu, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kinnaur and Mandi districts have been closed for the day, as a precautionary measure.