Two soldiers among 5 dead as J and K, Ladakh receive heavy rains, unseasonal snowfall

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Ladakh, and Jammu and Kashmir for the third consecutive day on Sunday, officials said. With water bodies swollen, the meteorological department issued a red alert for Monday for certain parts of the Jammu region and Ladakh, while residents in dozens of lower catchment areas in the Jammu region were evacuated to safety as a precautionary measure.

The body of a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) was retrieved from a stream in the Poshana area of Surankote late Saturday evening, while the body of a second soldier was found this morning as the water level started receding in the district. The two army personnel were washed away in flash floods while crossing a stream in the Poonch district, a defence spokesman said.

Meanwhile, a landslide hit a passenger bus at Bhangrooon Thathri-Gandoh village road in Doda killing two passengers — Amir Sohail and Mudassar Ali — and injuring another who was rescued, Bhaderwah Superintendent of Police Vinod Sharma said. A concrete bridge over Khellani Nallah on Batote-Kishtwar national highway was washed away as Chenab and its tributaries, especially Neeru in Bhaderwah and Kalnai in Bhalessa, were in full spate.

More than 15 people caught in flash floods in the district were rescued from low lying areas, the officials said. Mohammad Kazim, a resident of Kargil, was killed when a boulder rolling down a hillock hit and buried his vehicle near village Pandrass along Leh-Srinagar national highway in Kargil district of Ladakh, the officials said.

Several high altitude areas of the Union Territory including Rangdum, Pensi La and Zanskar in Kargil besides various mountain passes in Leh district experienced unseasonal snowfall, while the towns were lashed by rains. The meteorological department issued