1 killed,26 rescued after flash floods hit Banihal area

The victim hailed from Hoshiarpur in Punjab.

“The workers got entrapped after the mouth of the approach tunnel in which they were working got sealed due to the landslide triggered by the floods,while a private security guard deputed at the entrance of the tunnel was killed,” ASP (Ramban) Purshottam Kumar said.

“It took police some time before reaching the spot as the approach road to the area was also affected. We finally managed to safely evict the workers with the help of the employees of J P organisation at around 0500 hrs today,” he said.

Meanwhile,the overnight search and rescue operation in the cloud burst affected area of Assar-Bagger continued after disruptions due to a protest for immediate grant of compensation to the affected.

So far two out of the five vehicles have been retrieved from the debris while three people still remain untraceable,police said.

The cloudburst yesterday affected over a km stretch of the Doda-Batote highway,and many vehicles and people were left stranded in the region.