Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, July 24

Rescue teams recovered the bodies of two women who went missing during recent floods in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials said on Friday, while searches continued for seven people still unaccounted for across the Pir Panjal region.

The recoveries came as authorities worked to restore essential services in the flood-hit districts of Poonch and Rajouri, where electricity transmission has largely been restored, but drinking water supplies remain severely disrupted.

Eight people had initially been reported missing in separate flood-related incidents in Poonch. The recovery of two bodies has reduced the number of people still missing in the district to six, officials said.

The body of Khalida Kouser, 25, a resident of Murrah village, was recovered on Thursday evening following an extensive search operation, officials said.

On Friday, rescuers recovered the body of another missing woman, identified as Sharifa Begum, from Sangla. Officials described the body as mutilated.

Search operations were continuing for the remaining six missing people in Poonch.

In neighbouring Rajouri district, Abdul Ghani, an employee of the Jal Shakti Department, remained missing after he was swept away by floodwaters. Rescue teams searched along the stream between Thanamandi and Rajouri throughout Friday.

Relatively stable weather allowed search and assessment teams to expand their operations. Rajouri town and surrounding areas experienced fair weather, while parts of the upper reaches, including Thanamandi, received moderate rainfall for several hours.

Officials said no fresh significant rise in river levels had been reported, easing conditions for rescue operations.

As floodwaters receded, vehicles swept away during the flooding began to emerge from accumulated sand and debris.

Residents reported that one vehicle was found buried beneath sand near Bela Bridge in Rajouri town, while parts of another vehicle were spotted in the river near Muradpur.

Power supplies have also improved across the two districts after the Power Development Department restored all major electricity transmission feeders, bringing relief to communities that had faced widespread outages following the floods.

The next priority is to repair damaged distribution infrastructure, officials said. Nearly 200 distribution transformers have been reported damaged in Rajouri district alone.

However, access to safe drinking water remains a major concern in several flood-affected areas.

Flash floods damaged or destroyed water-supply infrastructure, including machinery, pipelines and other equipment, leaving several schemes out of operation.

Residents have urged authorities to prioritise the restoration of drinking water supplies, saying access to potable water has emerged as one of the most urgent challenges facing communities affected by the floods.

The recovery and relief operations come after several days of intense rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir that triggered flash floods, landslides and cloudbursts, killing dozens of people and causing widespread damage to infrastructure and property.