6 more dead as rains batter J&K, HP

Flash floods triggered by cloudbursts wreaked havoc in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, washing away bridges, roads and houses and claiming six more lives on Thursday. Three people, including two children, died as flash floods hit different areas in J&K’s Rajouri, Poonch, Doda and Kathua districts. Shaqafat Ali (14) and his cousin, Safeena Kousar (11), were grazing cattle when they were swept away by the flash floods in a rivulet in Rajouri. The body of Basharat Hussain (32), a resident of Dunadi village, who drowned while bathing in Lopa stream in Doda on June 23, was taken out by an SDRF rescue team.

Flash floods due to cloudbursts were also reported from Qazi Mora in Poonch and different high-altitude areas of Doda, Udhampur and Ramban districts, but there was no report of any casualty.

Three more bodies were recovered from the Indira Priyadarshini Hydroelectric project site in Himachal’s Kangra district that was hit by a flash flood on Wednesday, taking the toll to four.“Those killed have been identified as Sanjay of Nurpur, Chain Singh (20), a resident of Doda in J&K, Aditya Thakur (20) from Chamba, Pradeep Verma (50) and Chandan Kumar (35), both from Uttar Pradesh,” said Kangra SP Shalini Agnihotri. The project work at the hydro project site had been suspended due to rain.

6 killed, 9 missing in twin U’khand accidents

At least three people were killed and nine others were missing after a bus with 20 on board veered off the highway in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand and plunged into the swollen Alaknanda river on Thursday morning, officials aware of the matter said, adding that those missing were likely dead. Three people were killed and another was critically injured after a car fell off into a gorge in Kalsi area of Dehradun district.

REFERENCE: HINDUSTAN TIMES