RAMBAN/JAMMU- Four people, including two brothers, were killed in a cloudburst in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district. Two houses and a school were damaged in the incident. The flash flood was triggered by a cloudburst in the hilly Rajgarh area, about 25 km from the district headquarters, officials said.
"Four bodies were recovered from the debris after a heavy search by local volunteers, police and rescue teams of SDRF," Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Alias ??Khan told PTI. The search for the body of another missing person is on.
Officials have identified the deceased as Ashwini Sharma (24), her brother Dwarka Nath (55), niece Virta Devi (26) and their guest Om Raj (38), a resident of Bansra in Rajgarh. Rescuers are searching for Sharma's sister-in-law Bidya Devi (55).
"The cloud burst near the primary school in the hilly area of ??the village and created a fast-flowing river through the village of Drubala-Gudgram, which swept away the school building, two residential houses and a cowshed," said Ajay Kumar, a local. Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have expressed grief over the incident and assured all possible assistance to the affected families.
Meanwhile, seven members of a family died after a landslide engulfed a house in a remote village in Reasi district. Officials said the landslide was triggered by heavy rains in Baddar village of Mahor and all seven bodies have been recovered.
The deceased have been identified as Nazir Ahmed (38), his wife Wazira Begum (35) and their sons Bilal Ahmed (13), Mohammad Mustafa (11), Mohammad Adil (8), Mohammad Mubarak (6) and Mohammad Wasim (5).
Officials said Nazir and his family were asleep when their house, located on a hillside, collapsed due to the landslide, burying them alive. Locals, with the help of police, pulled out the bodies. Moderate to heavy rains lashed several parts of Jammu and Kashmir overnight.