Nine personnel of the Indian Army have been washed away during rescue operations in the Pulwama district of flood-hit Jammu and Kashmir. Rescue operations for the Army soldiers is currently underway.
The team of Army personnel, who were on relief and rescue operation in Pampore area of Pulwama district, were on a boat which capsized. They are trapped in strong water currents in Jhelum River, an Army official said.
While 11 personnel managed to come back to safety, nine personnel are still trapped, he said, adding, two helicopters have been pressed into service to airlift the trapped Army personnel. "We have launched an operation to rescue them," the official said.
The situation in the state continues to be grim with a red alert being issued for parts of South Srinagar as the Jhelum has breached its embankment in Pulwama.
More than 100 people have lost their lives in the past two days in heavy rains and floods. Traffic on the Jammu-Pathankot highway has been stopped after incessant rain.
All trains bound for Katra, including the recently launched Katra Express, have been suspended after landslides at many places along the track in Udhampur in Jammu. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is moving teams to Srinagar and Jammu for rescue and relief operations.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take stock of the flood situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Singh arrived in Srinagar on Saturday morning and went straight into a meeting with the CM in the technical area of the airport where both discussed steps to meet the situation arising out of the worst floods in the state in six decades.
After briefing the Home Minister, Omar himself drove Singh through the Srinagar city which is witnessing heavy rainfall since morning. Accompanied with Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh, the Home Minister is scheduled to conduct an aerial survey in the affected districts before proceeding to Jammu where he will undertake a similar exercise in the flood affected areas of Rajouri and Poonch districts.
Jitendra Singh, who hails from the state, would hold talks with senior administrative officials and seek ways for early resumption of yatra to Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, which has been temporarily suspended in view of the heavy rains.
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