Rain-related incidents claim 4 lives; rescue efforts hampered in flood-hit Poonch, Rajouri

Jammu, Jul 20: Four more people lost their lives in rain-related incidents across Jammu on Monday, taking the death toll to 16 over the past two days, officials said. At least seven people were still missing as persistent heavy rains hampered rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit Poonch and Rajouri districts, the officials said. In the first incident of the day in Doda district, a rock rolled down a hillock near Raggi Nallah along the Jammu-Kishtwar national highway around 9.30 am amid torrential rains, hitting a passenger bus. They said a rescue operation was launched immediately, and seven injured persons were shifted to a nearby hospital, where one of them, identified as Manish Kumar, was declared brought dead. In addition, the body of an unidentified person was recovered from the damaged vehicle, the officials said, adding efforts are underway to establish the identity of the deceased. The officials said the highway remained blocked as a couple of private vehicles were also hit by boulders in the area. However, the occupants of the vehicles escaped unhurt. In another incident, a woman identified as Shiv Devi was killed after being hit by a shooting stone near her house in Kashtigarh area of the district, the officials said. Body of Vikas Ahmed, who got washed away in flash floods, was fished out from the river at Salani area of Rajouri town this morning, the officials said Heavy rain on Monday severely hampered rescue operations in both Poonch and Rajouri districts, a day after devastating flash floods and landslides claimed 12 lives and left several others missing. While 10 persons lost their lives and six others missing in Poonch, two others were killed and one more, a Jal Shakti employee, missing in Rajouri. The fresh spell of rain began around 3 am in the twin border districts and continued unabated till the last reports were received, making rescue and search operations difficult in the affected areas, the officials said. Swollen streams, slippery terrain and poor visibility hindered the movement of rescue teams, who have been racing against time to trace the missing. Police, Army, SDRF and Civil Defence personnel and local volunteers continued rescue efforts despite the adverse weather, the officials said. They said the continuing rainfall has raised concerns over the possibility of fresh landslides and flash floods, with residents in vulnerable areas being advised to remain alert. The administration is closely monitoring the situation, the officials said. The Meteorological Department has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir till July 23, prompting district administrations to issue advisories urging people to remain vigilant and avoid venturing near rivers, streams, nallahs and other water bodies. Moderate to heavy rainfall was reported from Jammu and several other districts, though there were no immediate reports of any loss of life or damage to property. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday directed all district administrations to submit situation reports every six hours until July 24 to strengthen monitoring and ensure a coordinated response. He also assessed the administration's preparedness to deal with any weather-related eventuality across Jammu and Kashmir.