At least six people were killed and two were reported missing after heavy rainfall and snowfall swept India's northern region of Kashmir on Friday, setting off avalanches and turning mountain rivers into raging torrents.
The Army said that bodies of three soldiers hit by avalanche have been recovered. Two soldiers have been rescued.
The authorities deployed helicopters to rescue people cut off by flash floods. Rajesh Kalia, a defence spokesman said that the snowfall triggered multiple avalanches. "A post in Batalik sector was buried," Kalia told Reuters.
The Army's Northern Command said specially trained and equipped avalanche rescue teams were employed in Batik sector to rescue the soldiers trapped in the avalanche.
An Indian Air Force helicopter was guided by a soldier to rescue people in the Poonch region. The soldier held a flare towards a group of villagers, who were stranded on the far bank of a river. They climbed a rope ladder into the craft and then were taken to safety.
The senior superintendent of police in Poonch, Rajiv Pandey said 17 people were evacuated from the area.
In Srinagar, the summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, some low-lying districts along the Jhelum were swamped. But, the residents said that the river was starting to recede.
"We are relieved as the water level is receding and the rains are reducing," one of the residents said. "We are praying that rain should stop."
This latest disaster has revived the memories of 2014, when the Jhelum River flowing through the region's main city, Srinagar, burst its banks, swamping homes and killing 200 people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered help to Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti from the Centre to deal with the flood-like situation in the Kashmir Valley.
