Rain and avalanches claim eight lives in Kashmir

Eight people were killed in three days of heavy rains and snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, but with the weather clearing, the water levels in all swollen rivers, streams and lakes in the valley have started receding, officials said yesterday.“With gradual improvement in weather, the water levels in the Jehlum river and its tributaries has started receding, both at Sangam (in Anantnag district) and at Ram Munshibagh in Srinagar city,” the irrigation and flood control department said in Srinagar.Eight people have been killed in torrential rain and untimely heavy snowfall during the last three days, the department officials said.After the water level of the Jehlum river crossed the danger mark in Anantnag and Srinagar on Thursday, authorities declared a flood warning in the valley.A father and son were killed by an avalanche in Kargil on Thursday. Three soldiers were buried alive under an avalanche in Batalik Sector of the Ladakh region but two soldiers were rescued.A woman was killed by a lightning in Rajouri and a 10-year-old girl drowned in a river north Kashmir’s Kupwara district.Five passengers of a taxi had a miraculous escape after the vehicle fell into the overflowing Brengi mountain stream in Anantnag district on Thursday. Two passengers of the ill-fated vehicle, however, went missing in the flood waters.The army used helicopters to rescue 17 people marooned in flash floods in Poonch on Thursday. Dozens of houses across the state have been partially damaged by the floods and torrential rains.People in different areas of Srinagar city, including Maisuma, Karan Nagar, Bemina, Batmaloo, Wazir Bagh, Rajbagh, Mehjoor Nagar and Chanapora said flood waters had entered their homes.