SRINAGAR: A labourer from Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district who works in Saudi Arabia lost eight family members after a cloudburst triggered flash floods and mudslides that buried his house in Murrah-Bufliaz village in Surankote on July 19. While four bodies have been recovered, his three sons and a grandson remain missing.
Haji Mohammad Latief, who works as a labourer in Saudi Arabia, had returned to his native village around two and a half months ago to spend time with his family.
According to Latief's son, Sarfaraz, a Class 12 student studying in Jammu, the family was asleep at their home in Murrah-Bufliaz village while heavy rain lashed the area.
"At around 3.50 am, there was a cloudburst and everybody woke up. My father stepped out to shift his vehicle to a safer location," he said.
Within minutes, flash floods and mudslides swept down the slope and buried Latief's house, which was located on a hillside.
"When my father returned, the house had disappeared under heaps of debris. There was nothing left. The house had vanished beneath the debris and all eight family members were buried," Sarfaraz told TNIE.
With mobile communication disrupted due to the bad weather, announcements were made through mosque loudspeakers to alert residents about the incident. Villagers rushed to the site and began searching through the debris before rescue teams arrived.
The administration swung into action, and teams from the SDRF, police, CRPF and the civil administration were rushed to the area to launch a search and rescue operation.
The teams have so far recovered four bodies, including Latief's wife Noor Safiya, his daughter Khalida Kounsar, his wife's aunt Bano Bi and her grandson Mohammad Akram.
However, four members of Latief's family are still missing: his sons Sajjad Ahmed (16), Haq Nawaz (11), Shah Nawaz (11) and his one and a half year old grandson, Sofiyan.
Only two of Latief's children survived the tragedy. His son Sarfaraz was studying in Jammu, while his daughter Farida Kounsar was away from home.
Latief, who is scheduled to return to Saudi Arabia for work after three months, is heartbroken and grief stricken.
"I appeal to the administration to speed up the search and rescue efforts and recover the bodies of my missing children and grandson," Latief said.
He urged the administration to deploy more earthmovers and other machinery to speed up the search operation.
At least 29 people have lost their lives in rain related incidents across the Union Territory, with Poonch district accounting for 19 of the deaths.
Tehsildar of Surankote Rajinder Kumar told TNIE that persistent bad weather had slowed rescue efforts in the area.
"The weather improved yesterday and the SDRF team, assisted by police and civil administration personnel, is continuing the search operation," he said.
Kumar said they were hopeful the bodies of the missing persons would be retrieved soon as search and rescue teams continued to remove mounds of mud and debris from the area.
Latief continues to wait in anguish, praying that the bodies of his three sons and grandson are recovered soon so they can be given a final farewell.