Cloudburst kills nomad family in Baramulla, 3 children among 4 bodies found

Cloudburst kills nomad family in Baramulla, 3 children among 4 bodies found

Baramulla: At least four bodies of a Bakarwal nomadic family were recovered on Sunday while one is still missing after a cloudburst in the woods of Rafiabad area in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district on Saturday evening.

Police said that they received information that a cloudburst had hit a temporary shed (kotha) of a nomad family from Rajouri district in Rafiabad on Saturday evening at Kafrana Behak near Hamam Markoot village and that family members were missing. Soon after the information, teams of police headed by SDPO Rafiabad Nisar Ahmad, SHO Dangiwocha, Tehsildar Rafiabad along with teams of SDRF and locals rushed to the spot and started a search and rescue in the area.

In the morning, police recovered four bodies belonging to members of the nomadic family. The search for one more missing family members is going on, police said.

Police identified the deceased as Shahnaza, 30, wife of Farooq Ahmad Kharay, her two sons Mohammed Tariq Kharay, 8, and Arif Hussain Kharay, 5, and daughter Nazia Akhtar, 14. Police said the Haji Bashir Ahmad Kharay, 80, is still missing.

Sources said that one person named Farooq Ahmad was found alive far from the accident spot, but officials were yet to confirm this.

DIG north Kashmir Sujit Kumar Singh confirmed that four bodies have been recovered and search for one more missing person is going on. He described the incident as very unfortunate and tragic.

Local sources said that several sheep and goat of the same family were also killed in the incident. They said that a small bridge at the nearby Chanam village was also washed away by the water from the cloud burst on Saturday evening and scores of paddy fields and orchards were submerged in the flood water in the lower areas of Rafiabad.

 

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