Jammu, July 20: At least 11 people, including a woman and her two children, were killed in fresh rain-related incidents across Jammu on Monday, raising the death toll to 23 over the past two days, officials said.
Seven people went missing as persistent heavy rain hampered rescue and relief operations in the flood-hit districts of Poonch and Rajouri.
Seven people, including two children, were buried alive after a landslide triggered by heavy rain brought down their mud house in the upper reaches of Loran in Poonch, officials said.
Villagers pulled out from the debris the seven deceased, who were identified as Zahida Begum, 38, her son Manan Rafiq and daughter Aleesa, aged six and four, her brother-in-law Tanveer Ahmad Bhat, 27, sisters-in-law Shamim Akhter, 33, and Shabnam Bano, 31, nephew Mohd Irfan, 17 — all residents of Arigam village of Mandi Tehsil, the officials said.
Earlier in the day, a passenger bus was hit by a rock that rolled down from a hillock near Raggi Nallah along the Jammu-Kishtwar National Highway in Doda district.
Two people, Kulwant Singh and Manish Kumar, died in the incident reported at around 9.30 am, and six were injured.
The highway was blocked for an extended period as a couple of private cars were hit by boulders. No one was hurt in that incident.
In the Kashtigarh area of the district, a woman identified as Shiv Devi was killed after being hit by a stone near her house.
The body of Vikas Ahmed, who was washed away in flash floods, was fished out from the river at the Salani area of Rajouri town this morning, the officials said.
Heavy rain over the two days has caused massive damage to public and private infrastructure.
Ten people died and six went missing in Poonch, while in Rajouri, two died, and a Jal Shakti employee went missing.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday announced an ex gratia relief of Rs 6 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased.
Abdullah said no amount of financial assistance can ever compensate for the irreparable loss of life.
A government spokesperson said the relief package comprises Rs 4 lakh from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and an additional Rs 2 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF).
The fresh spell of rain began around 3 am in the twin border districts and continued intermittently throughout the day.
Swollen streams, slippery terrain and poor visibility hindered the movement of rescue teams, who have been racing against time to trace the missing.
The rescue teams comprise police, army, SDRF and civil defence personnel and local volunteers, the officials said.
The Meteorological Department has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir till July 23.
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. (PTI)
