Tragedy hit a family of seven in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district during the early hours of Saturday as their house collapsed due to a landslide, burying the entire family beneath its debris.
All seven members of the family remained buried for three to four hours before their bodies were retrieved from the debris on Saturday morning, said Waqar Yunus, Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Reasi's Mahore.
According to Yunus, the landslide was triggered by a cloudburst. The tragic incident happened at around 3 am on Saturday.
Among the seven people who have died, five were children aged 12, 10, 8, 6, and 4.
Distressing visuals from the spot show villagers retrieving the bodies of the family buried under not just debris but also mud. While the house in which the family was residing collapsed due to mudslide and cloudburst late at night, the villagers only got to know about it in the morning and rushed to the spot.
4 killed in Ramban after cloudburst
In another part of the state, four people died and one is missing following a cloudburst in Ramban district's Rajgad area on Saturday. According to a police officer, the cloudburst hit the region at around 12:30 am on Saturday.
{{/usCountry}}In another part of the state, four people died and one is missing following a cloudburst in Ramban district's Rajgad area on Saturday. According to a police officer, the cloudburst hit the region at around 12:30 am on Saturday.
{{/usCountry}}"Four bodies have been recovered, while another one is missing. We are trying to trace them. The sudden cloudburst triggered flash floods in the Natna area, causing damage to a house and a school besides disrupting normal life in the area," ANI quoted Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Ramban, Arun Gupta as saying.
The two incidents are latest in a series of several such tragedies that have hit Jammu and Kashmir recently during monsoon. At least 138 people died in the state due to rain-related incidents in the state's Kishtwar, Kathua and Reasi districts from August 14 to 26, reported Hindustan Times.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said that he is “anguished by the cloudburst & rain-triggered landslides in Reasi & Ramban.”
“Condolences to the bereaved families. Spoke to Senior Officials and took stock of the situation. Rescue and relief operations are underway. All possible assistance is being provided to the affected," he said.
According to the India Meteorological Department, heavy rainfall is likely in isolated parts of Jammu and Kashmir from August 30 to September 2.