Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall claimed two lives and injured 10 people on Monday in the border town of Poonch and along the Vaishno Devi shrine track in the Jammu region.
A 5-year-old student was crushed to death, and at least four others, including a minor girl, were injured when a rockslide struck the Government Primary School at Kalsian near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district on Monday.
In another incident, Indian Army troops launched a rescue operation after a pilgrim was buried alive and six others were injured when a landslide struck Banganga, along the old trek route to the Vaishno Devi cave shrine in Reasi district. The injured included two women and pilgrims from different states.
The Chief Medical Officer, Poonch, Dr PA Khan, said that the student was killed and several others injured when a rock from a nearby hill rolled down at the school building at Kalsian. The injured students were rushed to the district hospital for treatment.
The deceased student has been identified as Ehsan Ali (5). The four injured students are Mohammad Safeer (7), Bilal Farooq (8), Aftab Ahmed (6), and Tobia Kouser (7), a girl.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah have expressed grief over the tragic incidents and directed the district authorities to provide proper medical care to the injured. An ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh has been given to the parents of the deceased child.
Troops of the Indian Army assisted the civil authorities in the relief and rescue operations at Vaishno Devi.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, who is the chairman of the Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, monitored the situation.
The landslide was triggered by heavy rains which lashed Katra town, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting the shrine atop the Trikuta hills, officials said.
The incident occurred around 8.50 am at Gulshan Ka Langar near Banganga, the starting point for the yatra, where mostly pony riders gather along the old track.
A rescue operation was launched immediately, and the trapped pilgrims were rescued and evacuated to the hospital at Katra, the officials said. Rescue operation was underway when reports last came in.
The injured have been identified as Rajinder Bhalla (70) from Yamuna Nagar, Haryana; Leela Raikwar (56) from Lalitpur in UP; K Radha (66) from Chennai; Upan Radha (70) from Chennai; Nikhil Thakur (26) from Tirki; Suresh kumar (66) from Pimpri, Pune, Maharashtra; and Vicky Sharma (37) from Dhanori, Katra.
The White Knight Corps of the Indian Army posted on X, “In response to a landslide in the general area of Katra, troops of White Knight Corps were swiftly mobilised to assist in relief and rescue operations in collaboration with civil authorities. Immediate support was provided to the affected locals, showcasing the Indian Army’s unwavering commitment to the people”.
“Rescue and support operations were currently in progress”, the Army said.