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14 dead 60 missing in Kashmir floods landslides
(MENAFN- Arab News) SRINAGAR India: A crowded bus has been swept away by a flooded stream in the Indian-held portion of Kashmir and about 60 people are missing officials said on Thursday.
Police said rescue teams had been sent to the scene of the disaster but heavy rains and the depth of the river were making it difficult to reach the victims.
"Rescue teams are there including a column of the army" police Inspector General Rajesh Kumar said.
"Airforce rescue helicopters are also ready but heavy rains and a strong current in the stream make it difficult" he said adding that some of the passengers on board might have escaped to safety.
Flooding has hit hundreds of villages across the Kashmir valley in the last 24 hours after days of heavy rain.
At least 16 people have been killed in separate flood-related incidents since Wednesday evening.
The bus accident occurred in Rajouri 350 kilometers (220 miles) south of the region's main city of Srinagar.
"Witnesses said 50 to 60 people were in the bus when it fell into a gorge after it was swept away by flood waters" said the divisional commissioner Shantmanu who goes by only one name.
Authorities earlier said Kashmir's worst flooding in 22 years has killed at least 14 people.
Police officer Imtiyaz Hussain said the victims were swept away by floodwaters or buried by mud from mountain slopes since Wednesday. They included a paramilitary officer whose bunker collapsed on him.
Hussain said Thursday that soldiers and rescue workers used boats to move thousands of people to higher ground. At least 100 villages across the Kashmir valley were flooded by overflowing lakes and rivers including the Jhelum river which was up to 1.5 meters (4 feet) above its danger level.
Landslides are common in India during the monsoon season which runs from June through September.
Police said rescue teams had been sent to the scene of the disaster but heavy rains and the depth of the river were making it difficult to reach the victims.
"Rescue teams are there including a column of the army" police Inspector General Rajesh Kumar said.
"Airforce rescue helicopters are also ready but heavy rains and a strong current in the stream make it difficult" he said adding that some of the passengers on board might have escaped to safety.
Flooding has hit hundreds of villages across the Kashmir valley in the last 24 hours after days of heavy rain.
At least 16 people have been killed in separate flood-related incidents since Wednesday evening.
The bus accident occurred in Rajouri 350 kilometers (220 miles) south of the region's main city of Srinagar.
"Witnesses said 50 to 60 people were in the bus when it fell into a gorge after it was swept away by flood waters" said the divisional commissioner Shantmanu who goes by only one name.
Authorities earlier said Kashmir's worst flooding in 22 years has killed at least 14 people.
Police officer Imtiyaz Hussain said the victims were swept away by floodwaters or buried by mud from mountain slopes since Wednesday. They included a paramilitary officer whose bunker collapsed on him.
Hussain said Thursday that soldiers and rescue workers used boats to move thousands of people to higher ground. At least 100 villages across the Kashmir valley were flooded by overflowing lakes and rivers including the Jhelum river which was up to 1.5 meters (4 feet) above its danger level.
Landslides are common in India during the monsoon season which runs from June through September.
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