Haji Latif spent 27 years working in Saudi Arabia as a labourer to build his dream home and secure a better future for his family, but a devastating flashflood in Poonch reduced everything to rubble in minutes.

He lost eight family members in the Sunday tragedy, including his wife, four children, a daughter and a granddaughter. Torrential rain triggered landslides and flashfloods in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri on Sunday, wreaking havoc, killing several people and injuring many. All these prompted a multi-agency rescue operation.

Now devastated, Latif’s only demand is to recover the bodies of his five family members who remain buried beneath the debris in Murrah-Bufliaz village. Three bodies were recovered earlier.

“My only appeal is this: Please help me. If JCB machines can be brought here, those can remove these huge boulders because people alone cannot do this work. If even one more body of my loved ones can be recovered, it will be the greatest blessing from Allah for me,” Latif said, sitting beside the remains of what was once one of the finest houses in the village, called the “Taj Mahal”.

With each passing day, the hope of recovering his family members’ bodies diminishes as landslides have hampered the rescue operation by blocking roads leading to the affected area, delaying the arrival of heavy excavation equipment even as search teams continue efforts to locate the missing victims beneath the debris.

Officials said the road to Murrah hamlet is blocked in several places and the administration is working to restore connectivity and facilitate the movement of machinery, including JCB excavators.

Latif said that the house represented nearly three decades of his relentless toil as a labourer in Saudi Arabia.

“I spent 27 years working in Saudi Arabia. Every penny I earned went into building this house. It was my dream home. I had only two goals in life: To build a home and ensure my children received a good education,” he said.

Recalling the night of the tragedy, Latif said he woke up around 3 am after hearing heavy rain and became concerned about his vehicle parked near the stream, down the hill on the roadside. “I told my family I was going to move the vehicle. My wife handed me a torch, my shoes, a walking stick and the car keys. My children woke up and saw me off at 3:19 am,” he said.

After moving the vehicle to safety, his wife and children called him, urging him to return because the rain had intensified. “Around 3:29 am, I heard a deafening roar from the stream. I thought it was just the sound of the swollen water. I never imagined my house would be destroyed. We had never witnessed such devastation from rain or floods,” he said. The deceased include 59-year-old Noor Safia, wife of Mohd Latif; 16-year-old son Sajad Ahmed; Haqnawaz Ahmed (11), Shahnawaz Ahmed (11), daughter Khalda Kouser, wife of Yasar Iqbal (25) and grandchild two-year-old Sofian, and other kin Bano Bi, wife of Mohd Hussain (60) and Mohd Akram, son of Mohd Liaqat (7).