Landslide kills 33 as communications partially restored in Indian-administered Kashmir

- Bad weather had damaged optical fiber at multiple places, disrupting mobile phone and internet services across Jammu and Kashmir

SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

At least 33 people have been killed and over 20 injured after heavy rains triggered a massive landslide near the Vaishno Devi shrine in Katra, Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, officials said Wednesday.

A police official told Anadolu over the phone that at least 32 people were dead, while over 20 others were injured, during the incident in the Katra city of the Reasi district.

“The police and other rescue teams are on ground. We are trying to search for the survivors,” the official said.

Since Tuesday, at least 37 people have lost their lives in Reasi and Doda districts as the flood control department in the region Wednesday declared flood risk for the Jhelum River in the Kashmir Valley and advised people to stay away from river banks and move to safer places.

Meanwhile, many structures have been damaged.

The heavy rainfall in the region has brought life to a standstill as schools, workplaces, and other business establishments were closed after rain swept through streets, with authorities advising residents to stay indoors.

Since Monday night, the Jammu and Kashmir region has faced its heaviest rainfall in decades, damaging bridges, washing away roads, and flooding large areas, forcing residents to relocate to safer zones.

“At least 3,500 people have been evacuated to safer places so far,” officials said.

Indian Railways cancelled 18 trains to and from Katra, Udhampur, and Jammu railway stations Wednesday as relentless heavy rains wreaked havoc in the Jammu region.

Some trains have been restored now.

Mobile and internet services have been partially restored in the region after intense rainfall led to the outage in communications, according to telecom operators.

The restoration work is still in process.

Officials said that network outages were reported across all service providers in the region after optical fiber in multiple places was damaged as a result of the severe weather.