Three young labourers who tried to trek to from Kashmir valley to Banihal in Jammu region through the Pir Panjal mountain range died of hypothermia while another was rescued in Ramban district on Wednesday, a top police officer said.
The four men, who tried to reach home amid the nationwide lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus, had taken mountainous trek in the Pir Panjal range to reach Banihal in Ramban but were caught in bad weather.
Ramban’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Haseeb-ur-Rehman said, “Three labourers died of hypothermia while another was rescued and shifted to a hospital. It had snowed and the night temperature had plummeted. They were coming from Anantnag to Dooligam area in Banihal area but died of hypothermia.”
Three other labourers had also trekked to their village in Banihal from Anantnag.
“In fact, seven labourers took a hilly route from Verinag in Anantnag towards Banihal on Tuesday. While three labourers reached their village, remaining four got stuck at a hilltop in Nagimandu (Hingal Top), about five km from Dooligam in Banihal bacause of extreme bad weather conditions and snowfall,” he added.
“These four labourers could not cross the hilltop and a rescue operation was launched this morning. While three dead bodies were recovered from the spot, one person was found alive and rescued,” said Rehman .
{{/usCountry}}“These four labourers could not cross the hilltop and a rescue operation was launched this morning. While three dead bodies were recovered from the spot, one person was found alive and rescued,” said Rehman .
{{/usCountry}}The deceased were identified as Ghulam Mohiuddin (30), Zubair Ahmad Drabu (20) and Reyaz Ahmad (22).
The man who was rescued was identified as Parvaiz Ahmad of Hinyal and has been hospitalized in Sub-District Hospital, Banihal.
The SSP said that all the deceased were related to each other and belonged to Dooligam.
“While three had reached their homes last night, these four men decided to cut short their distance and chose to cross a snow y peak fearing that they might not be allowed to pass Jawahar Tunnel due to the ongoing lockdown restrictions,” the SSP said.
Deputy magistrate of Ramban district, Nazim Zai Khan said, “We had requested everyone to stay put where they were but they took a treacherous route which wasn’t right. They were coming from Verinag in Kashmir and were crossing a mountainous pass.”
Khan also said that despite repeated advisories people have been violating lockdown norms and putting themselves and others at risk in Ramban district.
“Nearly 200 people have reached Banihal and probablywant to go to Kashmir. We are giving them food and shelter but their number is increasing every day. They have been kept in quarantine for 14 days at Banihal railway station. Though there is no suspected case among them so far but they are certainly adding to the worries of the administration,” he said.