With as many as 68 persons being killed today, the death toll in the worst floods in Jammu and Kashmir in nearly six decades has reached 88. To review the situation, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and MoS in the PMO Jitendra Singh will visit the state on Saturday.
As many as 64 persons have died in the Jammu region today in flash floods, house collapses and landslides, state officials said here, while four have lost their lives in Kashmir.
Twenty people died in Rajouri in flash floods, landslides and house collapses, SSP Rajouri Mubasir Latifee said, adding that 13 of them perished in house collapse triggered by landslide in Thanamandi belt. Besides, 25 bodies were recovered from Thursday's bus mishap in which 63 members of a marriage party were washed away in Rajouri district, the SSP said.
In Poonch district, 12 people have died taking the total of deaths in the district to 19, officials said. In Reasi district, four people died today taking the toll to 10, the officials said, adding one died in Udhampur district and the bodies of two people who were washed out have been recovered from a canal in Jammu. With this the total deaths in the Jammu region has gone up to 78.
Four people were on Friday washed away in Kashmir, taking the toll to 10 in the Valley. Three persons were washed away by strong currents in Sukhnaq Nalla in central Kashmir Budgam district while another youth was drowned in Vishnu Nalla in south Kashmir Kulgam district, police said.
With today's deaths, a total of 88 people have died in the state hit by floods and landslides due to incessant rains since Wednesday. As many as 6,000 people were rescued from flash floods in various areas by teams of Army and IAF.
Over 3,000 people from 20 villages have been evacuated from Pargwal and Munawar Tawi belt in view of areas getting inundated by swollen Chenab river in Jammu and one thousand from other districts thereby dislocating and displacing 10,000 people.
