At least 7 killed in landslides in J&K's Kathua; 11 injured

Srinagar: Seven persons were killed and 11 other injured in two separate incidents of landslides on Sunday morning in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The calamity struck Jodh Ghati village of Rajbagh and Bagra village of Janglote where seven members of four families were killed, including five children. Heavy rains that continued overnight also triggered landslides in Changda village of Kathua and Dilwan-Hutli in Lakhanpur but no major damage was reported from the area. The rains submerged several low-lying areas in the district and the railway line passing through Kathua was also shut.

This fresh string of cloudbursts and landslides in Kathua came a few days after a cloudburst triggered flash floods in Chisoti village in Kishtwar district on August 14, at least 60 people dead, more than 100 injured and several people missing.

In Kathua, the roads leading to the affected villages were damaged and washed away in some places, and all the rivers and canals in the area were flowing above the danger mark on Sunday. The officials of the district administration as well as disaster management teams had to walk several kilometres to reach the affected villages.

"Continous rains triggered landslides and all the houses in these areas were buried under the debris of mud, sand and stone from the nearby hill. Seven persons were killed and 11 others injured in two villages. We have performed the last rites of all the people killed and our teams are working on the restoration plan," deputy commissioner of Kathua Rajesh Sharma told ET.

Union home minister Amit Shah spoke to lieutenant governor of J&K Manoj Sinha and chief minister Omar Abdullah on the cloudburst in Kathua and assured all support from the central government. Abdullah announced ex-gratia assistance to the deceased from the CM's relief fund.

Rescue Ops Continue in Chisoti
Meanwhile, the rescue operation in Kishtwar continued for the fourth day on Sunday, even as the death toll continued to increase and several people remained missing. "Our rescue and rehabilitation operations continue. Death toll has reached 61 and several injured people have been sent home after treatment," deputy commissioner of Kishtwar Pankaj Kumar told ET.

The Jammu-based White Knight Corps of the Indian Army said that it had intensified rescue and relief efforts in Chisoti village and that the Army's engineer bridging teams along with equipment had started construction of a bridge at the site of Chisoti Nala.