Ramban/ Rajouri, Jul 25: Two women died and five others, including a minor boy, sustained injuries after a passenger vehicle met with an accident at Jatheli Mohalla in Doda district of Chenab Valley on Saturday.
Official said that the accident occurred at around 2:30 pm when a passenger vehicle (JK06B-8096) skidded off the road and fell into a gorge within the jurisdiction of Police Station Doda.
Heavy rainfall was lashing the area at the time of the mishap.
The injured were immediately shifted to the Government Medical College (GMC) Doda for treatment.
According to the Medical Superintendent, Associated Hospital, GMC Doda, Asha Devi, 30, wife of Ajay Sharma and Minakshi Devi, 29, wife of Shiv Kumar, both residents of Jatheli, were brought dead to the hospital.
The injured have been identified as Shavinesh, 3, son of Shiv Kumar; Ajay Sharma, 33, son of Bharat Bhushan; Trashan, 2, son of Ajay Sharma; Nasib Singh, 35, son of Rajinder Singh, and Shiv Kumar, 35, son of Bharat Bhushan.
While Shavinesh, Ajay Sharma, Trashan, and Nasib Singh are undergoing treatment at GMC Doda, Shiv Kumar was referred to GMC Jammu for specialised treatment due to the seriousness of his injuries.
Meanwhile, relentless rainfall continued to cripple normal life across the Rajouri and Poonch districts of Pir Panjal region on Saturday, claiming another life and leaving two other people injured.
Officials said that a 45-year-old woman died while her husband and son were injured after a portion of their house collapsed in Bhatian village of Thanamandi sub-division in Rajouri district amid incessant rain.
The incident occurred when the kitchen shed, cattle shed, and another portion of a pucca house caved in during heavy rainfall, burying the family members under the debris.
Locals immediately launched a rescue operation and pulled out the trapped victims before shifting them to Government Medical College (GMC) and Associated Hospital, Rajouri.
The deceased has been identified as Shahida Parveen, 45, wife of Abdul Rehman of Bhatian village.
She succumbed to her injuries while being shifted to the hospital.
Her husband, Abdul Rehman, 62, and son, Toufeeq Rehman, 25, sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment.
Additional District Development Commissioner Rajouri, Malikzada Sheraz-ul-Haq, said the injured are out of danger and are receiving the best possible medical care from doctors at GMC Rajouri.
He confirmed that Shahida Parveen died on the way to the hospital.
Meanwhile, continuous moderate to heavy rainfall throughout Saturday severely affected normal life across several parts of Pir Panjal region.
Though the rainfall intensity remained moderate to heavy, it persisted for several hours, increasing the risk of landslides, shooting stones, flash floods, and land sinking in vulnerable areas.
Rescue agencies also intensified the search for seven persons who were washed away in separate flood incidents on July 19.
Of the missing, six belong to Poonch district while one is a government employee from Rajouri district.
Officials said joint teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), J&K Police, civil administration, the Army, and local volunteers continued extensive search operations on Saturday.
However, despite sustained efforts, no breakthrough was achieved till late evening.
The search operation has been continuing for the past several days.
On Thursday evening and Friday, the bodies of two missing women were recovered from flood-hit areas of Poonch district, while the search for the remaining missing persons remains underway.
