Landslide: A massive landslide struck the strategic Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Tuesday. One person was killed and six others were reported injured in the landslide incident that occurred in Ramban district at around 2:30 PM today. Police on Tuesday informed that the landslide hit the 270-km long highway at Seri village, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded on both sides.
Road clearance operation is in full swing
Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mussarat Islam said the road clearance operation by agencies concerned is in full swing for early restoration of traffic on the highway – the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country. "Two landslides hit the highway at the same spot within an hour, resulting in the death of a crane driver working at the site, while six members of a family, travelling in a private car, were injured when their vehicle plunged into a gorge after being hit by a rolling boulder," Islam told PTI.
Injured people were shifted to the hospital
Islam, who supervised the rescue operation, said all the six were rescued in injured condition and shifted to the district hospital Ramban. Five of them were later referred to the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital in Jammu for specialized treatment, he said. He said two vehicles – an earthmover and a private car – were also damaged in the incident.
Earlier, there was apprehension that another vehicle was buried under the debris that was spread over 50 metres but nothing like that was found so far, he said, adding efforts are on to at least clear the road for single carriage by tonight. Islam said the slide is still active and the traffic will be allowed only after shooting stones are stopped.
Body of the deceased would be handed over to family
Earlier, Senior Superintendent of Police (Ramban) Mohita Sharma identified the deceased as Surjeet Singh of Sumber village. He said the body of the deceased would be handed over to his family for last rites after the completion of legal formalities. Sharma, who is also in-charge SSP Highway, said Mohammad Taj, Hamid, Rubeena Begum, Sakeena Begum, Salma Bani and Amir were rescued from the car by the rescuers.
(with inputs from PTI)
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