Rescue teams started trawling through muddy debris in Honjar village of Kishtwar district on Thursday morning in search of survivors.
The village was hit by a flash flood following a cloudburst early Wednesday. Till Wednesday evening, seven bodies were recovered and 17 injured persons were rescued from the debris. “Rescue teams have started searching for survivors but chances look grim. So far, we have recovered seven bodies and rescued 17 persons,” said a police officer at the Kishtwar police control room.
Rescuers believe that 26 persons are still missing. However, the rains have subsided in Jammu region since Wednesday evening . The government of Jammu and Kashmir has announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh each for the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the tragic cloudburst in Kishtwar.
The government will provide the grievously injured with ₹50,000 each. The State Disaster Response Fund will also disburse ₹12,700 each to the injured. Six of the 17 injured have been hospitalised in the district hospital of Kishtwar Additional director general of police Mukesh Singh, who reached Kishtwar district Wednesday night, visited the district hospital in Kishtwar and met the injured persons.
News Source : Kashmir Observer
