Seven people were killed in a landslide in the mountainous Poonch district, while three others lost their lives in separate shooting stone incidents in Doda district on Monday, taking the death toll from rain-related incidents across the Jammu region to 24 over the past two days.
According to police, a landslide struck a ‘dhok’ (temporary shelter) of the nomadic Gujjar community in Mandi tehsil of Poonch early Monday morning after heavy rains triggered the slope to collapse.
The incident occurred in a remote area, and it took rescue teams nearly four hours to reach the site and evacuate the victims. The deceased included three men and four females, among them two children.
The victims were identified as Tanveer Ahmed (27), Zahida Begum (38), Shamim Akhter (33), Shabnam Bano (31), Mohd Irfan (17), Manan Rafiq (6) and Aleesa (4), all residents of Mohalla Arigam in Mandi.
In Doda district, two people were killed and six others injured after shooting stones and falling boulders hit a bus and another vehicle near Riggi Nallah on the Batote-Doda-Kishtwar National Highway (NH-244) at around 9.45 am.
An SDRF rescue team from Doda rushed to the spot, evacuated the injured to Government Medical College (GMC), Doda, and recovered the bodies of the two deceased, identified as Kulwant Singh and Manish Kumar.
In another incident, Shiv Devi was killed after being struck by a shooting stone while at her house in the Kashtigarh area of Doda district.
Relentless rainfall since Sunday has caused widespread devastation across the hilly districts of the Jammu region. While 13 people had died in Rajouri and Poonch by Sunday, the body of Waqas Ahmed, who had been reported missing, was recovered on Monday. Four people are still missing following the flashfloods, and search operations are continuing.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha reviewed the situation arising from heavy rains, flash floods and landslides across several districts of the Union Territory.
“I spoke to senior officials today to assess the impact of heavy rains, flashfloods and landslides. I am deeply saddened by the loss of lives in Doda, and my heart goes out to the bereaved families. Emergency teams, including the NDRF, SDRF, J&K Police and the Army, have been deployed and remain on high alert in vulnerable areas. Key roads in Poonch, Rajouri, Reasi and Udhampur have been reopened, while efforts are underway to restore water supply in affected areas. Field teams have also been directed to urgently assess damage to houses and public infrastructure,” the Lieutenant Governor said.
Authorities have issued a weather alert warning of heavy rainfall until July 23 and advised residents in vulnerable areas to avoid venturing near nullahs, rivers and seasonal streams. The Meteorological Department has also warned of the possibility of landslides and flashfloods across the region.