Jammu, March 3: A woman and her three daughters, aged between two and five, were killed after their ‘kutcha’ house collapsed in Reasi district occupied Jammu and Kashmir.Moderate to heavy rains lashed several parts of Jammu and Kashmir on March 1 and 2. Dozens of residential houses and structures were also damaged by strong winds and hailstorm in different parts the territory. In the Reasi incident, Phalla Akhter (30), her daughters Nasima (5), Safeena Kousar (3) and Samreen Kousar (2) lost their lives when their house in Kunderdhan Mohra village in Chassana tehsil collapsed following heavy rains, the officials said.Two elderly members of the family -- Kalu (60) and his wife Bano Begum (58) -- suffered injuries in the incident and were taken to hospital, they said.
The bodies were retrieved from the debris by rescuers, they added.
Suhunksha Devi, a resident of Batmas-Changa village of Bhalesa, died and her brother injured when the ceiling of their house collapsed due to a windstorm in Doda district.
At least 10 other houses suffered damages in Gandoh tehsil of Doda district, and 15 more houses and other structures were damaged by windstorm in Trigam, Palmar, Mughal Maidan and adjoining areas in nearby Kishtwar district, officials said.
A fuel tanker driver was killed when he lost control and crashed his vehicle into a hillside amid heavy rain in Moud Passi in Udhampur district, they said.
Six people were injured when a boulder from a hillock hit a passenger bus at Manoor Gala in Rajouri district, officials said. They said the bus was on its way from Mandir Gala to Rajouri and the injured passengers were rushed to a hospital.
Officials said strong winds also damaged rooftops of three school buildings and a public health centre in Trigam, Kudji, Tanka and Mangit in Khari tehsil, while rooftops of over a dozen houses were damaged in Sub-division Banihal, Ramsoo and Gool.
A religious school was also damaged when a tree fell on its building in the Batote area of the district, they said.
Meanwhile, the Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar Highway has been closed for vehicular traffic due to landslides
The highway was closed early on Saturday following landslides, mudslides and shooting stones, triggered by heavy rainfall at over a dozen places between Nashri and Banihal including Dalwas, Mehad-Cafetia and Hingni in Ramban, the officials said.
A portion of the road near Panthiyal was also washed away, they said.
The traffic department said the highway continues to remain blocked and advised people to avoid journeys on the highway, till the completion of the restoration work. Agencies