Heavy rainfall in Kashmir
Three children have been killed and two others are missing after a cloudburst near Sonamarg in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday.
Debris after the cloudburst, which struck 76 km from Srinagar last evening, has shut down the Srinagar-Leh highway.
The bodies of two children were recovered this morning. One of them was identified as 15-year-old Iqra Nazir.
Two more residents of Kellan village were missing and two labourers from Gangangir could not be traced as the Army mounted a relief operation to clear the national highway.
The sliding of debris and landslides along the mountainside has hampered the work of clearing the road. Army soldiers have been sent to Kullan, Sonamarg and Nilagrar, where mudslides have been reported.
Four Spanish citizens and two civil engineers were rescued by the Army immediately after the cloudburst.
Gagangir is the place before Sonamarg where the Z-Morh tunnel across Zozila Pass is proposed to be constructed for an all-weather road between Srinagar and Kargil.
Men from the Border Roads Organisation are working with Army engineers and Rashtriya Rifles soldiers to facilitate the Amarnath pilgrimage.
The Army has opened a transit camp at Sonamarg for civilians who were forced to leave their homes. It has also formed 11 mobile teams to provide food and medical supply to the poor.