Four members of a nomadic family died when a pine tree fell on their tent on Thursday morning in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir. The incident occurred in the Bhalna forest area of the Keshwan belt when high-speed wind and heavy rainfall uprooted a big tree. The family was going towards Dachan with its sheep and goats, and had halted in Bhalna forest due to heavy rains, reported PTI. Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar, Devansh Yadav said four people, including three women, died on the spot.
The four people who belong to the Bakarwal community had stopped for the night due to the heavy rain and set up their tents to sleep during which the tree fell on them.
"A pine tree fell on a tent pitched by the nomadic family in the forest belt. In this tragic incident, four family members lost their lives early today," Senior Superintendent of Police, Kishtwar, Khalil Poswal told PTI.
Upon receiving information about the incident a police team rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations and to take the deceased to a hospital for legal formalities.
"A police team immediately rushed to the spot and started a rescue operation," the deputy commissioner was quoted by PTI, and added that the bodies are being taken to a hospital for legal formalities. The deceased are residents of Gathi-Barwal in the Kathua district.
The deputy commissioner further said that immediate relief of Rs 50,000 was provided to the family from the Red Cross Society, as per the PTI report.
Meanwhile, two persons including a 4-year-old were killed and three others were left injured after a tree fell on them due to the heavy storm in two separate incidents in Uttarakhand's Haridwar. In the first incident, 3 people were rescued safely, during the late-night rescue operations the 4-year-old was found but passed away while being taken to the hospital.
In another incident, two people came into the grip of a falling tree in the Laljiwala area in which a devotee from Sonipat died.