Intermittent rainfall in the area is one of the major obstacles in the rescue work amid fears of more incidents of landslide. Officials said that due to heavy rains the channel was brimming with water, which got accumulated at the landslide affected part of the mountain. The pressure of the accumulated water and unrelenting heavy rains activated the landslide and the mudflow engulfed three houses belonging to three bothers along its path.
Soon after the houses were struck, people of the adjacent areas rushed to the side to rescue the trapped residents. Zubaida, 50, and her children Zaheer, Anam, Malaika, Tayyiba and Laiba were immediately rescued alive. However, Zubaida was critically injured while her children received minor wounds and bruises. The woman was referred to a health facility in district headquarters Rawalakot.
From the house of Raj Muhammad, the bodies of his wife Sobia, 40, and daughters Tasmiya, 11, Alisha, 9, Asma, 7, and Mahjabeen, 4, were recovered. Body of Shoaib Maqsood (18), a nephew of Raj, was also recovered. Rescuers recovered the body of Rufi, a one-and-a-half years old daughter of Raj, from under the debris. Later on Deputy Commissioner Poonch Mirza Arshad Mahmood, SSP Chaudhry Zulqarnain Sarfraz and a local army commander were also arrived at the scene to supervise the rescue work.