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With eight more deaths, Punjab flood toll mounts to 51
According to reports, a brother-sister duo drowned in a rain-fed rivulet at Kapurthala district’s Ranipur village on Saturday
The death toll from the ongoing floods in Punjab has risen to 51 as rescue and relief operations continue across the state. The latest fatalities include two people in Amritsar and one in Rupnagar districts. Five more deaths were reported after the release of the bulletin.
According to reports, a brother-sister duo drowned in a rain-fed rivulet at Kapurthala district’s Ranipur village on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Sandeep Kumar, 35, and Preeti, 27, of Uccha village in Jalandhar district. They were on their way to get medicines from a chemist shop when the mishap took place.
Police said as per eyewitnesses, the victims were riding a bicycle, which skidded off the bridge and fell into the swollen rivulet.
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“Villagers rescued them and rushed them to the local civil hospital, where they were declared brought dead,” said deputy superintendent of police Bharat Bhushan.
Five children were swept away in the raging Tangri river in Devigarh block of Patiala on Saturday evening. Of the five, four managed to come out on their own after some time, while one drowned. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team fished out the body from the river. The 12-year-old boy was a resident of Aheru Khurd village in Patiala.
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It is learned that the children had gone near the Tangri river at Bhuni village in Ambala district for bathing when the incident occurred.
The Patiala district administration has again appealed to the residents dwelling nearby to avoid going near rivers.
In another incident, 50-year-old Gurmeet Singh drowned in the swollen Sutlej at Talli Gulam village in Ferozepur. Deputy commissioner Deepshikha Sharma said an immediate relief of ₹25,000 has been released for the victim’s family for his last rights, while a compensation of ₹4 lakh from the SDRF would soon be handed over to the family.
