J&K: One Dead, Several Shops Damaged Due To Landslide In Poonch District

On Saturday Jammu-Srinagar highway remained blocked in the Udhampur district due to landslides triggered by rains leaving a long trail of stranded vehicles, the officials said.

Representational Image

Source : PTI

New Delhi: One person was killed while several shops were damaged after a landslide triggered by heavy rains in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, reported news agency PTI quoting officials. 45-year-old Tariq Ahmed, a truck driver, was driving out his parked truck when the landslide struck Mandi-Poonch road near Sakloo village, as per the officials stated in the report. 

Rescuers swiftly swung into action and pulled out the driver from the damaged vehicle in a critical condition, the officials said, adding that he was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to injuries. 

Besides the truck, five shops were damaged in the incident, the officials said.

They said the road clearance operation was going on when the last reports came in.

On Saturday Jammu-Srinagar highway remained blocked in the Udhampur district due to landslides triggered by rains leaving a long trail of stranded vehicles, the officials said. The landslide struck the 270-km highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, around 1.30 pm at Samroli, forcing suspension of the traffic from both sides, the officials said.

As per the officials, at least two private cars had suffered damages after being hit by rolling stones from a hillock overlooking the highway near Panthiyal in Ramban district.

However, the passengers travelling in both the vehicles escaped unhurt, they said. The highway, which had remained closed for nearly 10 hours the previous day following a landslide near Banihal, was opened for one-way traffic Friday night, the officials said, adding the light motor vehicles were allowed from both sides this morning.