Jammu, 19 July (H.S.): At least eight people were killed and six others went missing as torrential rains triggered landslides and flash floods in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, prompting a multi-agency rescue operation.

The worst devastation was reported from Surankote tehsil in Poonch district, where most of the fatalities occurred, while rescue teams raced against time to trace the missing amid continuing rain and damaged roads, the officials said.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who was in Delhi for the proposed statehood protest, said he will cut short his stay in the national capital and return to Jammu in the afternoon in view of the worsening situation across parts of the division following heavy rains.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha reviewed the situation in the rain and flash flood-hit districts and directed officials to ensure immediate relief and assistance to the affected families.

A landslide triggered by torrential rains struck a house in Lower Murrah village of Surankote during the early hours of Sunday, burying all eight occupants under the debris, the officials said.

They said rescue teams recovered the bodies of Bano Bi (60) and two-year-old Sofian Yasar, while a search operation was continuing to trace the remaining six missing persons, including a woman and four children.

A 28-year-old woman, Nazia Kousar, was killed when her house collapsed in Noonabandi village. Her Husband, Mohd Hafiz, and three children, aged between two and six years, were rescued with injuries and shifted to a hospital, officials said.

Shahzaib Ahmad (22) lost his life when his house collapsed at Sanglani-Surankote, while a minor girl identified as Iram drowned in a stream at Marhote. An unidentified body of a woman was also fished out from a stream near Dhundak Lathoong bridge, officials said.

One person was killed and another critically injured following collapse of nearly half-a-dozen houses in Haveli tehsil of Poonch district, the officials said.

They said body of a woman was also fished out from a river in Rajouri town which was hit by flash floods following incessant overnight rainfall, forcing hundreds of residents to move to safer locations as floodwaters inundated low-lying areas.

Dozens of vehicles were swept away or submerged after overflowing rivers breached their banks, causing widespread disruption, the officials said.

They said rescue and relief teams, assisted by the local administration, were engaged in evacuating affected families and assessing the damage, while local Congress MLA Iftkhar Ahmad said there was heavy damage to public and private property in the flash floods.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar