New Delhi, August 26 (IANS) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday expressed grief and termed the landslides in Vaishno Devi “deeply tragic” in which five people lost their lives while four have been injured.

“The landslide caused by heavy rainfall on the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route in Jammu and Kashmir is deeply tragic. I have spoken with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Shri Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha regarding the incident. The local administration is actively engaged in relief and rescue operations, and an NDRF team is also reaching the site to assist the injured,” Home Minister Amit Shah said on X.

Heavy downpour on Tuesday disrupted mobile telephone and Internet services in the Kashmir Valley, while all major rivers in the Jammu division were flowing above the danger level, inundating many areas.

Chief Minister OmarAbdullah, who was planning to travel to Jammu today, had to postpone his trip as the airport was closed owing to inclement weather.

“Just spoke to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the phone to brief him about the situation in J&K, especially Jammu province, where heavy & continuous rains have caused a lot of damage and disruption to normal life. Efforts are being made to restore phone/data connectivity as soon as possible,” the CM posted on X.

“The closure of Jammu airport stopped me & my colleagues from reaching Jammu this evening. I hope to be able to get there on the first flight tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m closely monitoring the situation & in touch with the teams on the ground in the division,” he added.

The sudden disruption of mobile telephone services and internet facilities by various service providers affected normal life in Kashmir, while heavy rain threw life out of gear completely in the Jammu division.

A bridge on the Jammu-Pathankot highway collapsed, forcing the closure of the highway, as shooting stones blocked the Jammu-Srinagar highway.

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 on Tuesday, 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 have launched an operation to trace the missing youths.

–IANS

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