Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 19: A father and his three-year-old daughter were among 11 persons killed and eight others were injured due to landslides in Doda and Kishtwar districts, whereas Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and various roads in district Doda including 47-kilometer long Batote-Doda highway also remained closed for several hours due to inclement rains.
Due to misty and slippery road, seven persons hailing from Himachal Pradesh were killed, while five others were injured when the Tata Sumo in which they were traveling skidded off the road and plunged into 500 feet deep gorge at Drabshala in district Kishtwar.
The ill-fated vehicle bearing registration number HP13-3304 was on its way to Himachal Pradesh from Jammu via Kishtwar, when the driver lost control over the vehicle due to slippery road and it plunged into 500 feet deep gorge and hit the bank of Chenab river this afternoon.
On getting information, police, Quick Rescue Teams (QRTs), personnel from 26 Rashtriya Rifles and staff deployed at the construction site of 850 MW Ratle HEP Drabshala rushed to the spot and started rescue operation.
All the accident victims were rushed to Public Health Centre (PHC) Thathri, where doctors declared six out of 12 injured as brought dead.
Later, the injured were rushed to district hospital Doda, where one more accident victim was declared dead by the doctors.
The deceased have been identified as Shalu Devi, wife of Tara Chand of Dhera Tehsil of Chamba District, ASI Rakesh Kumar of Solan, Om Parkash, son of Ram Lal of Pangi, Pyar Din, son of Chand Mohammad of Chamba, Prithvi Raj, son of Narayan Ram of Chamba and Raj Mal of Pangi. One of the deceased is yet to be identified.
The injured have been identified as Suman, wife of Santosh Kumar, Santosh Kumar, son of Chuni Lal, Tara Chand, son of Shri Chand, police constable Raman, son of Hardeep Singh and Sher Singh, all residents of tehsil Dhera of district Chamba, Himachal Pradesh.
Later, all the injured were referred to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for advance treatment.
The ambulance ferrying the injured to PHC Thathri was also hit by a boulder near Hasti resulting into minor injuries to driver of the vehicle who has been identified as Zahid Saroori.
Member Legislative Assembly (MLA) Inderwal GM Saroori also rushed to the spot to supervise the rescue operation.
In another incident, a landslide triggered in the Pull Doda area of district Doda around 6:00 am today in which Abdul Rehman (24) and his 3-year-old daughter were buried alive.
On getting information, police and locals rushed to the spot and started rescue operation and recovered the bodies.
The deceased originally hailed from Uttar Pradesh and were among the labourers engaged for road construction work in the district.
After conducting the postmortem at district hospital Doda, the bodies were handed over to family members for last rites.
A couple died due to landslide in Khanikote, Arnas, district Reasi today. The deceased were cutting grass, when landslide hit them.
On getting information, police team from Arnas police station headed by SHO PSI Ranjeet Singh Rao and locals started rescue operation and retrieved the bodies.
After conducting postmortem, the bodies were handed over to family members for last rites.
The deceased couple has been identified as Chanchal Singh (38), son of Suram Singh of Khanikote, Arnas and his wife Sushma Devi (35).
Two persons including ASI of 3rd IRP Battalion received injuries when the Tata Sumo they were traveling in was hit by a shooting stone at Rahi Nallah in Assar, district Doda.
The injured identified as driver of the vehicle Bilal Ahmed and ASI of 3rd IRP Battalion Falail Singh were rushed to Public Health Centre (PHC) Assar, where their condition was stated to be out of danger, when last reports came in.
Meanwhile, traffic on 300-km-long Srinagar-Jammu national highway, connecting the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, was disrupted for several hours due to landslides triggered by heavy rains during the night.
Hundreds of vehicles, including those carrying passengers, were stranded on the highway today due to landslides and shooting stones triggered by overnight rains at Panthal in district Udhampur and other places on National Highway.
Later, the landslides were cleared by the BRO men and machinery and the suspended traffic was resumed.
The stranded vehicles including of Army, private and commercial have been allowed to proceed towards Kashmir Valley.
Reports said that due to absence of traffic cops, hundreds of vehicles remained struck on the National Highway after its re-opening.
The people especially the passengers and attendants of the patients were seen cursing the men in blue for not performing their duties dedicatedly.
The 47-kilometer long Doda-Batote highway remained closed at Raghi Nalla and Pul Doda areas here for second consecutive day due to heavy landslides.
Doda-Bhaderwah road was also blocked at Drodu Sanai and Bhalla area of Doda district due to landslides, while landslides also blocked Bhaderwah-Chinta road for over eight hours.
The men and machines of Border Roads Organization (BRO) were pressed into service and heavy boulders were cleared late this evening and vehicular movement was restored on the roads.
Over 100 vehicles of CRPF carrying security personnel for polls from Doda district to Anantnag district in South Kashmir were also stranded due to the landslide. However after the clearance of the road, they have moved to their destination.
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