Poonch, Aug 1: With rescue operations continuing on Sunday for the fifth consecutive day at Honzar village in Kishtwar district, which was devastated by cloudburst and subsequent floods on intervening night of July 27 and 28, there is still no trace of the 19 missing persons who went missing during the calamity.
Success has been eluding the search teams after seven bodies were recovered and seventeen persons rescued in injured condition after the calamity on Wednesday last.
Authorities say they inducted additional rescue teams of NDRF and SDRF for carrying out the rescue operation. Several teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) with “sophisticated equipment” were earlier involved in the operation along with other rescuers from police, Army and local volunteers, the officials said.
The missing persons include Saja Begum (60) wife of Ghulam Mohidin, Khursheed Ahmed (31) son of Mohammad Iqbal, Fida Hussain (26) son of Mohammad Ramzan, Mohammad Sharif (40) son of Ghulam Rasool, Almina Tasbassum (22) daughter of Mohammad Iqbal, Mata Begum (45) wife of Lala Tantry, Ghulam Mohammad (70) son of Ghulam Rasool, Fazal Hussain (18) son of Rustom Ali Chopan, Tariq Hussain (50) son of Nazir Ahmed, Zarina Begum (40) wife of Tariq Hussain, Mata Begum (45) wife of Ghulam Rasool, Fatima Begum (56) wife of Ghulam Ahmed, Bashir Ahmed (45) son of Rustum Ali, Begum (45) wife of Abdul Rehman, Sharifa Begum (38) wife of Ghulam Mohammad, Shakir Hussain (22) son of Ghulam Ahmed, Ghulam Ahmed (65) son of Abdul Aziz, Zubaida Banoo (25) daughter of Ghulam Ahmed and Khalid son of Haji Gami.
The police on Saturday also started a community kitchen to provide meals to affected people of village Hounzar. The police said to have erected tents to provide the temporary shelter at the site.
SSP Kishtwar Shafqat Hussain continues to camp there at the cloudburst-hit site to supervise the ongoing rescue and relief operations being carried out by JKP, NDRF, SDRF, Army and civil administration of district Kishtwar. gns