Bodies of two cloudburst victims recovered in Ramban, search on for 5 missing persons

Two bodies, including that of a 12-year-old boy, were recovered on Tuesday as rescue operation continued in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district to trace five other missing people following a cloudburst, officials said.

The cloudburst occurred in the panchayats of Kumate, Dhraman and Halla in Rajgarh tehsil on Monday afternoon, causing flash floods in Tanger and Dadi streams, they said.

Seven members of three families were reported missing in the flash floods, Rajgarh tehsildar Major Singh said.

Despite inclement weather, the rescue team managed to retrieve the bodies of two persons, Yasir Ahmad (20) of Gadgram and Khalid Ahmed Parihar (12) of Suli-Kumate, the tehsildar, who is supervising the rescue operation, said.

He said efforts are underway to locate the remaining five missing people -- Ahmad’s mother Naseema Begum (42) and sister Shazia Banoo (6), Parihar’s mother Gulshan Begum (42) and sister Seerat Banoo (8), and six-year-old Qazia Banoo of Dungar Dandllah.

The rescue team includes personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), local police and volunteers.

Major Singh said that continuous rain has slowed down the rescue operation, as the rivulets are in spate. It took nearly three hours for the rescuers to reach the affected villages on foot.

Two government schools at Gadgram and Sonsua were among other structures that suffered damages, while three parked private vehicles were washed away by the flash floods.