MUZAFFRABAD: Heavy rainfall in various areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) during the past 24 hours has claimed eight lives, including three soldiers.
According to an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release, three soldiers including an officer were killed and three others were injured on Thursday night due to a mudslide in Kailer Sector near Bagh on the Line of Control (LoC).
The police recovered the bodies of the army men from the rubble and identified them as Officer Captain Fazl, Sulaiman and Ghulam Mohideen.
In the same area, a civilian was swept away by currents of the flooding stream. The land links of district Havayli remained cut off from the rest of the country while the main streams of the district flow above the danger mark.
A 9th grade female student from Bagh and a 4th grade student Haris were also swept away. No bodies were recovered till the filing of this report.
In district Kotli a 70-year-old woman was killed as the roof of her house collapsed on Thursday morning.
According to the police, Shahad Begum, wife of Muhammad , in village Tayain Khoiratta Kotli was buried under the rubble when the roof of her house collapsed due to heavy rains, killing her on the spot.
Meanwhile, in village Kalwaal Draaiyan district Bhimber a man lost his life as the roof of his house collapsed on Thursday night.
Water levels in river Jehlum, Neelum and Kunhar have been gradually increasing for the past 24 hours.
A flood warning has not been issued in the area. However, the district administrations of Muzaffarabad, Neelum and Hattian Balla have alerted residents living close to the rivers.
Further, the Met office in Muzaffarabad has said that the downpour will continue till Sunday night.
