J&K flood situation worsens

• Death toll mounts to 160
• Over 400 villages inundated
• Bad weather stops Home Minster from taking aerial survey

Jammu/Srinagar: The flood situation in Jammu and Kashmir continued to worsen on Saturday with the death toll mounting to 100 while rescuers struggled to evacuate thousands of people to safety as major rivers and streams were in spate due to incessant rains. As many as 7,000 people were rescued in various areas in Jammu by teams of Army and IAF teams till now.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to take stock of the flood situation soon after he arrived this morning in Srinagar, but could not undertake an aerial survey due to inclement weather.

Omar himself drove Rajnath Singh, who was accompanied by Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh, through the Srinagar city which was experiencing heavy rainfall. In Jammu region, 11 more deaths were reported on Saturday, including seven in two house collapse incidents in Udhampur. Four more bodies were recovered from Thursday's bus mishap in which 63 members of marriage party were washed away in Rajouri district, SSP Rajouri Mubasir Latiffe said adding a total of 29 bodies have been recovered so far.

Bridges closed
In Jammu, authorities have closed four bridges connecting two parts of city after they suffered damage due to River Tawi flowing above the danger mark.

Several rivers have been flowing above the danger mark and most parts of south Kashmir, including Pulwama, Anantnag and Kulgam districts have been submerged.

Authorities sounded a red alert asking people living close to River Sindh to move to safer places following cloudbursts and flash floods in the higher reaches triggered by the continuous rains for the past five days.

Modi to visit J&K today
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday to personally assess the damage caused by floods in the State. He will first travel to Jammu where he will undertake an aerial survey, sources said. Later in the day, he will go to Kashmir and take stock of the situation. The visit takes place a day after Home Minister Rajnath Singh's tour of the State which was badly hit by the floods, claiming lives of nearly 160 people.

7 Army personnel rescued
Srinagar: Seven of the nine Army personnel trapped in strong water currents of Jhelum River in flood-affected Pulwama district were on Saturday rescued, while two others were still trapped in flood waters, an Army official said.

"Seven of the trapped personnel were rescued and evacuated to safety, while efforts are on to save the lives of two other soldiers," the official said. A boat carrying a team of Army personnel, who were on relief and rescue operation in Pamopore area of Pulwama district, capsized and the personnel were trapped in strong water currents in Jhelum River, the official said. While 11 personnel managed to come back to safety, nine personnel got trapped, said official.