Weather vagaries || 2 killed in Valley, toll climbs to five

NH reopens after 30 hours

Jammu:Two people died while as many were rescued after they were trapped in snowfall in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday, taking the death toll due to inclement weather to five. Moreover, The 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway reopened after remaining closed for over 30 hours due to landslides and shooting stones triggered by heavy rains
Last night, stranded persons at Sinthan Pass in south Kashmir district were rescued, they said.
The rescue team of civil, police army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) officials traversed 30 km through snow-covered and foggy terrain, aided by machinery and walked for 8 km to reach the location, the officials said.
"At 0500 hours on October 24, one body was located on the spot, while another person died during the trip back," they said.
Two people survived and are being treated for hypothermia and shock, the officials added.
Parts of the valley, especially the higher reaches in south Kashmir, received moderate to heavy snowfall on Saturday.
The snowfall and rains, which started late on Friday night, triggered a mudslide that hit a tent set up by nomads in Noorpora in Tral area of Pulwama district, leaving three people, including two women dead, and one critically injured, they said.
The nomads belonged to Reasi district in the Jammu Division, the officials added.
Meanwhile, Over 500 stranded vehicles, mostly trucks, have been cleared from Jammu to Srinagar after the road was cleared of the debris. Dozens of stranded trucks were also allowed to move from Kashmir to Jammu, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Traffic, Shabir Ahmad Malik told PTI.
The highway was closed early Saturday after a massive landslide blocked the highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, near Cafetaria Morh besides shooting stones from the hillocks overlooking the arterial road between Maroog and Ramsu in Ramban district.
Malik said the road clearance operation was sped up early Sunday morning after improvement in the weather to reopen the highway, which was mainly blocked at Cafeteria Morh, Maroog and Peera.
He said the road was cleared for one-way traffic in the afternoon and accordingly, the stranded vehicles were allowed first from Jammu to Srinagar and then Kashmir to Jammu.
No fresh traffic was allowed from either Jammu or Srinagar, the officer said, adding that subject to fair weather and better road conditions, light motor vehicles would be allowed from both sides on the highway.