Jammu, July 20: At least 12 people, including a woman and her two children, were killed in fresh rain-related incidents across Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, raising the death toll to 23 over the past two days, officials said.
Eight persons are missing in flood-hit districts of Poonch and Rajouri and efforts are to trace them.
Officials said seven people, including two children, were buried alive after a landslide triggered by heavy rain brought down their mud house in the upper reaches of Loran in Poonch today.
The villagers and district administration personnel launched a search and rescue operation immediately.
The bodies of all seven persons buried in the debris were retrieved.
The deceased were identified as Zahida Begum, 38, her son Manan Rafiq and daughter Aleesa, aged six and four, her brother-in-law Tanveer Ahmad Bhat, 27, sisters-in-law Shamim Akhter, 33, and Shabnam Bano, 31, nephew Mohammad Irfan, 17 -- all residents of Arigam village of Mandi Tehsil.
Earlier in the day, a passenger bus was hit by a rock that rolled down from a hillock near Raggi Nallah along the Jammu-Kishtwar National Highway in Doda district.
Officials said at around 9.30 am, the shooting stones triggered by incessant rainfall rolled down a hillock near Raggi Nallah along the Jammu-Kishtwar national highway, hitting a passenger bus and two other vehicles.
While the occupants of two vehicles escaped unhurt, either persons travelled in the passenger bus were injured after the vehicle was hit by shooting stones.
A rescue operation was launched immediately and all the eight injured were shifted to nearby hospital, where two identified as Kulwant Singh and Manish Kumar were declared brought dead.
Of the six injured, three were referred to GMC Udhampur for specialized treatment.
In another incident, an 85-year old woman identified as Shiv Devi was killed after being hit by a shooting stone at her house in Kashtigarh area of the district, the officials said.
The body of Vikas Ahmed, who was washed away in flash floods, was fished out from the river at the Salani area of Rajouri town this morning.
Officials said another body was recovered from the stream in Mandi area.
With the 12 fresh deaths today, the death toll in the two-day weather fury in J&K in two days has risen to 23.
Eight persons including a Jal Shakit Employee are still missing in Poonch and Rajouri and efforts are on to trace them.
“Search operations continued at multiple locations along the Suran River in the Surankote area to retrieve bodies that went missing in the flash floods,” officials said.
They said teams of Police, SDRF and other concerned agencies are carrying out the operation in a coordinated manner, despite challenging terrain and adverse weather conditions.
Authorities said all available resources are being deployed to trace the missing persons and that the operation will continue until all bodies are recovered.
"Further updates will be shared as more information becomes available," officials added.
The Meteorological Department has forecast moderate to heavy rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir till July 23.