Kashmir reels under snow, death toll mounts to 11

Power lines down, roads choked

Four more persons have died in the aftermath of heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir, taking the toll since Thursday to 11. The Valley remained without electricity and cut off from the rest of the country for the second consecutive day on Friday.

According to officials, Muhammed Subhan Bhat, 65, died when the roof of the mosque he was praying in caved in at Budgam’s Beerwah. A woman died in South Kashmir’s Bijbehera when a house collapsed due to snow accumulation. A truck driver, Zakir Ahmad Khanday, lost his life when his truck skidded off the Srinagar-Jammu highway near Gulgaum.

Another civilian, Sidiq Ahmad, a shepherd, died and two others were injured in Reafi’s Mahore where they were caught in the snow fall. Around 152 head of cattle have perished so far. The Srinagar-Jammu highway linking the Valley to the rest of the country remained closed after 14 major landslides.