Man killed, two injured as boulder hits vehicle on Jammu-srinagar highway

Highway shut for 3rd day; two cattle die in Poonch

JAMMU/SRINAGAR: A man was killed and two others sustained injuries after a boulder came crashing down on their car on the Jammu-srinagar national highway near Kheri in Udhampur district on Thursday, officials said.

A police official said the deceased Sudhir Choudhury, 26, was a Punjab National Bank employee posted at Samroli. He was on his way to the bank with two colleagues when the incident took place. “Incessant rains dislocated a boulder from the hillock that fell on their vehicle,” he said.he was referred to GMC Jammu where he succumbed.

“His body was handed over to the family after completion of legal formalities. The condition of two others injured is stated to be stable,” the official said.

In another incident, a 40-year old man identified as Mohammad Yaqoob of Kanou Kither in Jawalapur area of Kishtwar district was swept away in a flashflood in a river.

IAF RESCUES 7 PEOPLE FROM SWOLLEN RIVER

Seven nomads, including three children, were rescued by the IAF from the swollen Ujh river in Kathua on Thursday.

In another rescue operation, eight people were rescued from a swollen rivulet in Mendhar. Two men who were trapped in the middle of the river near Khanetar area of Poonch were also rescued by SDRF teams, police and locals.

In other incidents, a cattle shed collapsed in Neka Manjhari and two cattle died in Poonch. A government primary school building also collapsed in Pathanateer village of Mendhar area.

Meanwhile, the 270 km long Jammu-srinagar national highway, the all weather surface link with Kashmir, remained snapped for the third straight day on Thursday as heavy rains lashed Ramban district triggering landslides in Panthial, Mompassi, Digdol and Marog.

As a result, over 2,000 vehicles remain stranded at various places at Qazigund, Chenani, Udhampur and Nagrota.