Kashmir Impulse Desk

Srinagar, July 25

Three people were killed, and at least seven remained missing in separate rain-related incidents across Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, as heavy downpours disrupted normal life, triggered a house collapse and complicated rescue operations in the mountainous region.

Two women were killed and five others, including two children, injured when a passenger vehicle skidded off a road and plunged into a gorge in Doda district, officials said.

The accident occurred at about 2:30 p.m. in the Jatheli Mohalla area, within the jurisdiction of Doda police station, as heavy rain lashed the Chenab Valley.

The vehicle, bearing registration number JK06B-8096, lost control on the rain-soaked road before falling into the gorge, officials said.

Rescue teams and residents rushed to the scene and shifted the injured to the Government Medical College and Associated Hospital in Doda.

The two women, identified as 30-year-old Asha Devi, wife of Ajay Sharma, and 29-year-old Minakshi Devi, wife of Shiv Kumar, both residents of Jatheli, were declared dead after being brought to the hospital.

The injured were identified as three-year-old Shavinesh, two-year-old Trashan, 33-year-old Ajay Sharma, 35-year-old Nasib Singh and 35-year-old Shiv Kumar.

Four of the injured were receiving treatment at GMC Doda, while Shiv Kumar was referred to GMC Jammu for specialised treatment because of the seriousness of his injuries, officials said.

In a separate incident in Rajouri district, a woman died and her husband and son were injured when part of their house collapsed amid relentless rainfall.

The incident occurred in Bhatian village in the Thanamandi subdivision, where a kitchen shed, cattle shed and another section of the family’s concrete house gave way under the impact of the heavy rain, trapping the occupants beneath the debris.

Neighbours and residents launched an immediate rescue effort and pulled the family members from the collapsed structure before taking them to GMC and Associated Hospital Rajouri.

The deceased was identified as 45-year-old Shahida Parveen, wife of Abdul Rehman.

She died from her injuries while being taken to hospital, officials said.

Her 62-year-old husband Abdul Rehman and their 25-year-old son Toufeeq Rehman were injured and admitted for treatment.

Additional District Development Commissioner Rajouri Malikzada Sheraz-ul-Haq said the two injured people were out of danger and receiving medical treatment.

The latest deaths came as persistent rainfall continued to affect large parts of the Pir Panjal region, with authorities warning of heightened risks of landslides, shooting stones, flash floods and land subsidence in vulnerable areas.

Meanwhile, rescue agencies continued searching for seven people who were reported missing after separate flood incidents on July 19.

Six of the missing people are from Poonch district, while one is a government employee from Rajouri district, officials said.

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Jammu and Kashmir Police, civil administration and Army, along with local volunteers, have been conducting search operations across flood-affected areas.

The search continued through Saturday but had yielded no breakthrough by late evening.

The operation has been under way for several days. On Thursday evening and Friday, rescuers recovered the bodies of two women who had gone missing in flood-hit areas of Poonch, while efforts to locate the remaining missing people continued.

The latest incidents have added to concerns over the impact of the prolonged wet spell across Jammu and Kashmir, where several mountainous districts remain vulnerable to sudden rises in water levels, road accidents and slope failures.

Although the Jhelum and its major tributaries remained below flood-warning levels in Kashmir on Saturday, authorities have urged residents and travellers to exercise caution as forecasters predict another spell of widespread rainfall from July 28.

The continuing rain has placed additional pressure on emergency and rescue agencies, which are simultaneously responding to fresh incidents and maintaining search operations for those still missing from earlier floods.