Jammu: At least two persons went missing while seven others were rescued after a passenger vehicle dropped into a river in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.
The accident happened on Thursday evening. Police said the taxi was going from Poonch town to Surankote when it went out of the driver’s control at Kalai Bridge and plunged into the river around 8.30 p.m.
Led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Poonch, Shafqat Hussain, a rescue operation was started immediately after the news of the accident was received.
Seven people, including four women, were rescued. They were taken to the hospital for treatment.
“Two persons were swept away by the river, and the operation to locate them is going on. The river is presently in spate following heavy rainfall in the area”, police said.
In another road accident in the same district, a truck driver was killed after he lost control of the wheel, and his vehicle rolled down the mountainside in the Chang village of Bufliaz in the Poonch district. Police said this accident also occurred on Thursday.
Most rivers and mountain streams are in spate after incessant rain in the Jammu division during the last two days. Heavy snowfall occurred in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir during the last 24 hours, and rain lashed the plain areas of the Jammu division.
Light snowfall also occurred in Srinagar city and other plain areas of the Valley during the last 12 hours. Gulmarg ski resort recorded 1.5 ft of fresh snowfall during this period, while Zojila Pass, Gurez and Razdan Pass recorded 4 ft of fresh snowfall on the ground.
Authorities closed the Srinagar-Jammu, Srinagar-Leh and the Mughal road due to heavy rain/snow during the last 24 hours.
The Meteorological (MeT) office says the same weather conditions will continue on Friday. Authorities had postponed the ‘Khelo India 2025-winter sports in Gulmarg’ due to scant snowfall in the ski resort. The fresh snowfall on the ski slopes in Gulmarg indicates that winter sports would be announced sooner than later.
(IANS)
