At least 24 people are dead after flash flooding and landslides triggered by cloud burst in Pakistan-administered Kashmir on July 15.
Nobodies have been found yet but officials claim that the chances of anyone being found alive are almost none. Telephone lines are down and roads leading to the village are swept away in flood or blocked. Rescue officials along with Pak Army are trying to clear away after the roadblocks to the village.
Commissioner Imtiaz said there was no time for a red alert to be issued. They had forecasted about the rain in the Kashmir but the occurrence of the flood was too sudden to deal with anything.
“We cannot declare the missing as dead at this point but have not found any of the missing persons so far,” said Saeed ur Rehman Qureshi from the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) for Azad Jammu and Kashmir. He declared five people were injured.
The flash flood occurred in Leswa town of Neelam Valley, a popular tourist spot near the Line of Control, early on July 15. More than 100 houses were damaged while a mosque was swept away after thunderstorm followed by a landslide, Qureshi said.
11 missing people are from the Tableeghi Jamaat and had been staying at the local mosque. Locals who reached on spot to rescue them are also destined to die.
“The army is volunteering the local administration in the rescue and recovery mission,” said Saqib Mumtaz, a spokesman for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Temporary camps are being set up to for the people affected by disaster while food and other useful items are also being gathered.