Four brothers from Rajasthan killed in Vaishno Devi landslide

Jaipur, Aug 28 (IANS) Four businessman brothers from a family in Rajasthan lost their lives in a massive landslide on the Vaishno Devi temple track in Jammu and Kashmir, which occurred on August 26.

The victims, residents of Sujangarh (Churu) and Nagaur districts, were buried under heavy debris and boulders near the Ardhkumari temple on Tuesday afternoon. According to family members, the group had been on a trip to Srinagar (J&K) for the past week.

After returning, they left for Mata Vaishno Devi darshan, where they met with a fatal accident.

The deceased have been identified as Arvind (35), shop owner at Indira Plaza Market, Sujangarh; Anil (43) - elder brother of Arvind, shop owner at Naya Bazaar, Sujangarh; Gajanand (32) - trader at Sarothia Market, Sujangarh; Sandeep (35) - shop owner from Nagaur district. Arvind and Anil were real brothers, while Gajanand and Sandeep were their cousins.

All four were well-known businessmen in their localities. The landslide occurred around 3 p.m. near Indraprastha Bhojanalaya, close to the Ardhkumari temple. Eyewitnesses said that within seconds, massive stones tumbled down the hill, leaving the devotees trapped with no chance to escape. Officials reported that over 250 mm of rain lashed Jammu within 24 hours, leading to flash floods and landslides in several areas.

More than 30 deaths have been confirmed so far on the Vaishno Devi route, with several devotees from Rajasthan also among the victims.

Earlier on Tuesday, five youths from Sampu town in Rajasthan's Dholpur district, who had gone to visit the Vaishno Devi temple last week, were caught in a landslide near the Garnaai Lota on the Kishanpur-Domel Road in Jammu, police officials said. Three of them were swept away in the strong water current, while two managed to survive by swimming and clinging to a tree.

The rescue teams of the NDRF and local police had launched an operation to trace the missing youths.

According to officials, the group of five youths -- Yash (son of Shashikant Garg and resident of Garg Colony in Dholpur's Sampu), Pranshu (son of Sunil Mittal and resident of Nagla Rai Jeet Hall in Dholpur's Sampu), Shiv Bansal (son of Vinod Bansal and resident of Kheragarh), Aditya (son of Hariom Parmar and a resident of Sampu), and Deepak (son of Vishnu Mittal and a resident of Tasimo village in Dholpur) -- had travelled to the Vaishno Devi temple on August 23.

All the youths were returning from Katra to Jammu to board a delayed train in Rajasthan when a sudden landslide struck. To avoid being hit by falling stones and debris, the youths came down the slope. As a result, a strong gush of water, triggered by the landslide, swept the youths away. Aditya and Deepak survived by swimming in the torrent and holding onto a tree. However, Yash, Pranshu, and Shiv were carried away by the force of the water and remain missing.

--IANS

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