Massive landslide kills 1, injures 6 in Ramban

Our Correspondent

Jammu, March 7

A person was killed and six others were injured when they were hit by a massive landslide in Seri village of Ramban district on the Jammu-Srinagar highway on Tuesday. The incident took place in the afternoon hours when there was a heavy rush of traffic on the road. The traffic police immediately shut the highway and did not allow people on the affected stretch.

Highway closed

• The traffic was suspended on the Jammu-Srinagar highway soon after the incident.
• Landslides and shooting stones have become a common sight on the highway in Ramban district which witnesses closure frequently.

An excavator operator, who was clearing the muck and stones from the road, also got trapped in a fresh landslide, resulting in his death. He has been identified as Surjeet Singh, a resident of Sumber in Ramban district.

Deputy Commissioner Mussarat Islam said a rescue operation was launched soon after the landslide. “The traffic was suspended soon after the incident. A vehicle was trapped while the other rolled down,” he said.

"Two landslides hit the highway at the same spot within an hour, resulting in the death of a crane driver working at the site, while six members of a family, travelling in a private car, were injured when their vehicle plunged into a gorge after being hit by a rolling boulder," he said.

Initially, the six injured whose vehicle got rolled down into a nearly 200 feet gorge were shifted to the district hospital but were later referred to the Government Medical College, Jammu, for specialised treatment. Locals immediately went down to help those inside the vehicle. They also unsuccessfully tried to evacuate the excavator operator who was trapped.

The injured have been identified as Mohammad Taj, a resident of Kalakote in Rajouri; Hamid, Rubeena Begum, Sakeena Begum, Salma Bano and Amir, residents of Munglu in Rajouri.

SSP (NH) Mohita Sharma said boulders began rolling downhills in Seri after the landslide. “The highway was shut for traffic,” she added. Many stretches in Ramban have become unsafe due to landslides and shooting stones, becoming a major problem for the traffic.

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