Three schoolchildren were swept away in a flashflood that struck Batote area of Ramban district, 125 km from Jammu, on Thursday evening.
The victims — Rakesh Kumar, 14, Payal, 15, Shivala Devi, 5 — were crossing a rivulet on their way back from school when the water washed them away in the flood caused by rain.
Areas of Kud, Patnitop, Batote and Ramban have been witnessing torrential rains since the early hours of Thursday, but things took a turn for the worse fatal around 4pm, sweeping away houses, damaging roads and also leaving the three kids dead.
The Batote-Kishtwar highway was blocked and the administration was making efforts to clear it till the filling of this report around 8.30pm.
Deputy commissioner, Ramban, Mohammed Ajaz confirmed the deaths, while deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Doda range, Nisar Ahmad said, “Rescue operations were immediately launched after getting the information. Fortunately, the rainfall has stopped. Of the three deceased, dead bodies of two were recovered while the body of Payal is yet to be found.”
