Latest news with #India-administeredKashmir
Egypt Independent
3 days ago
- Climate
- Egypt Independent
Sudden, heavy rain in Pakistan, India-administered Kashmir and Nepal kills more than 300 people
Sudden floods triggered by heavy rains have killed more than 300 people across parts of Pakistan, India-administered Kashmir and Nepal, authorities have said, as scores of people remain missing. In northwestern Pakistan, at least 203 people were killed in the space of 24 hours, local authorities reported Friday. Separately, five crew members were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after a helicopter crashed during relief efforts, according to a local government official. In India-administered Kashmir, at least 60 people have died and more than 200 are missing in the town of Chashoti on Friday, a popular pilgrimage destination for Hindu tourists, Reuters reported. At least 41 people died in Nepal, with another 121 left injured, Reuters reported, citing the country's disaster management authority. And at least eight people were killed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, including six family members buried in the debris of their home, Reuters reported. 'When the rain intensified, it wasn't long before I felt as if an earthquake had struck — the whole ground was shaking,' said Farhad Ali, a student living in Salarzai, in hard-hit northern Pakistan. 'In the pouring rain, my entire family ran outside, and we saw a torrent of mud and massive boulders rushing through the stream near our house. It felt like doomsday had arrived, with scenes straight out of the end of the world.' Hari Chand mourns the death of his wife during flash floods in Kashmir, on Friday. Channi Anand/AP Torrential rains, huge landslides and deadly floodwaters ripped through the region in recent weeks after a particularly fierce monsoon season began in early June, washing out entire neighborhoods and reducing homes to rubble. On Friday, Pakistan's Meteorological Department issued a flood alert for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, warning of more flash floods and urban flooding. Social media footage showed huge streams of brown water rushing through the province. Authorities urged residents to avoid tourist areas and not cross rivers during the floods. It comes after India's Meteorological Department said on Wednesday that the rainfall was due to a 'cloudburst,' which is a sudden and heavy downpour of more than 100 millimeters (4 inches) of rain in just one hour. Analysts warned the human-made climate crisis has exacerbated the intensity and frequency of seasonal floods in the Himalayas this year. Dramatic video shared on social media showed roads turned into raging rivers, while the downpour devastated entire buildings and swept away vehicles in Indian-administered Kashmir. In one of the clips, a wall of water, mud and debris could be seen rolling down the mountainside. Frantic rescue operations persisted across the region, with army and police personnel working to find those missing. Some of the rescued people have been taken to hospitals. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also chaired an emergency meeting on the cloudburst and subsequent rescue efforts in the capital Islamabad on Friday. 'An unbearable sight' Bodies were swept away and entire community hubs washed out in the foothills of India-administered Kashmir, eyewitnesses and emergency crews recalled, as survivors struggled to reconcile the scale of destruction. One 75-year-old village resident described a 'sight of complete devastation from all sides' after he saw eight bodies being pulled out from under the mud. 'It was heartbreaking and an unbearable sight,' Abdul Majeed Bichoo, a social activist, told the Associated Press. Miraculously, three horses were 'recovered alive,' he added. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel search for victims on Friday. Mir Imran/AFP/Getty Images Earlier this month, another surge of flood water tore through a mountainous village in the Himalayas in India's northern Uttarakhand state, leaving at least four people dead. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said he'd cancelled some events that had been planned to celebrate the anniversary of India's independence from Britain on Friday. The Machail yatra is a popular pilgrimage to the high altitude Himalayan shrine of Machail Mata, one of the manifestations of Goddess Durga, and pilgrims trek to the temple from Chasoti, where the road for vehicles ends.
ITV News
3 days ago
- Climate
- ITV News
Hundreds dead after heavy rains trigger flash floods across Pakistan, India and Nepal
Flash flooding brought by heavy rains have killed more than 300 people across parts of Pakistan, India-administered Kashmir and Nepal, authorities have said. Scores of people remain missing, and at least 203 people died in the space of 24 hours in northwestern Pakistan, according to local reports on Friday. Five crew members of a rescue helicoper were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after it crashed during relief efforts, a local official said. Dozens have been killed and hundreds have been injured and driven from their homes as floods also hit India-administered Kashmir. 'When the rain intensified, it wasn't long before I felt as if an earthquake had struck — the whole ground was shaking,' said Farhad Ali, a student living in Salarzai, in hard-hit northern Pakistan. 'In the pouring rain, my entire family ran outside, and we saw a torrent of mud and massive boulders rushing through the stream near our house. It felt like doomsday had arrived, with scenes straight out of the end of the world.' On Friday, Pakistan's Meteorological Department issued a flood alert for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, warning of more flash floods and urban flooding. Social media footage showed huge streams of brown water rushing through the province. Authorities urged residents to avoid tourist areas and not cross rivers during the floods. It comes after India's Meteorological Department said on Wednesday that the rainfall was due to a 'cloudburst,' which is a sudden and heavy downpour of more than four inches of rain in just one hour. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also chaired an emergency meeting on the cloudburst and subsequent rescue efforts in the capital Islamabad on Friday. The country has received above-normal rains, which experts link to climate change. These have led to floods and mudslides that, with the newly reported fatalities, have killed about 541 people since June 2, according to Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority.
The Star
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Trump revives India-Pakistan conflict claims over jet losses
US President Donald Trump said up to five jets were shot down during recent India-Pakistan hostilities that began after an April attack in India-administered Kashmir, with the situation calming after a ceasefire in May. Trump, who made his remarks at a Friday dinner with some Republican US lawmakers at the White House, did not specify which side's jets he was referring to. 'In fact, planes were being shot out of the air. Five, five, four or five, but I think five jets were shot down actually,' Trump said while talking about the India-Pakistan hostilities, without elaborating or providing further detail. Pakistan claimed it downed five Indian planes in air-to-air combat. India's highest-ranking general said in late May that India switched tactics after suffering losses in the air on the first day of hostilities and established an advantage before a ceasefire was announced three days later. India also claimed it downed 'a few planes' of Pakistan. Islamabad denied suffering any losses of planes but acknowledged its air bases suffered hits. Trump has repeatedly claimed credit for the ceasefire that he announced on social media on May 10 after Washington held talks with both sides. India has differed with Trump's claims that it resulted from his intervention and his threats to sever trade talks. India's position has been that New Delhi and Islamabad must resolve their problems directly and with no outside involvement. India is an increasingly important US partner in Washington's effort to counter China's influence in Asia, while Pakistan is a US ally. The April attack in India-administered Kashmir killed 26 men and sparked heavy fighting between the nuclear-armed Asian neighbours in the latest escalation of a decades-old rivalry. New Delhi blamed the attack on Pakistan, which denied responsibility while calling for a neutral investigation. Washington condemned the attack but did not directly blame Islamabad. — Reuters
Saudi Gazette
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
World's highest railway bridge opens in conflict-hit Kashmir
SRINAGAR — The world's highest railway bridge, an ambitious piece of engineering across a mountain valley in Kashmir, was opened Friday by Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, just weeks after a deadly tourist massacre in the Himalayan region sparked a brief conflict with neighboring Pakistan. Modi's visit to India-administered Kashmir was his first since a brief but deadly conflict between India and Pakistan in April. The nuclear-armed neighbors traded missiles, drones, and artillery shelling for four days after New Delhi blamed the massacre on its neighbor, which Pakistan denies. Decades in the making, the arched Chenab Bridge sits 359 meters (about 1,180 feet) above the river of the same name – that's 29 meters (over 95 feet) higher than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Costing more than $160 million with a length of 1,315 meters (4,314 feet), the bridge is part of the first railway link between Kashmir and the rest of India. Modi's Hindu-nationalist government has moved to integrate the Muslim-majority region with the rest of the country, including revoking a constitutional provision that allowed it to set its own laws in 2019. The Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed by India, Pakistan and China. All three administer a part of the region, one of the most militarized zones in the world. In addition to the Chenab Bridge, Modi also inaugurated the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project, which connects key cities in India-administered Kashmir to the rest of India. For Modi, who swept to power more than a decade ago on a ticket of nationalism and a promise of future greatness, investments in infrastructure like the Chenab Bridge and the broader rail link project can be seen as a powerful tool for social integration and political influence. Since he was first elected in 2014, the prime minister has rapidly expanded the region's road and rail connectivity, building networks that connect disparate towns with major cities. In 2019, New Delhi revoked a constitutional provision giving India-administered Kashmir the autonomy to set its own laws. The southern and eastern portions of the region known previously as the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir became two separate union territories, bringing them under direct control of New Delhi – a move Modi claimed would promote stability, reduce corruption and boost the economy. The Chenab Bridge is being hailed as a major win for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party government. His administration has poured billions into upgrading India's old and outdated transport network, part of its vision to transform the country into a developed nation by 2047. Among these ambitious projects is the construction of several tunnels and highways in the mountainous Himalayan region which has been criticized by some environmentalists who say the heavy construction could damage fragile topography already feeling the effects from the climate crisis. Modi's Char Dham Highway project, a multimillion-dollar infrastructure plan to improve connectivity in the state of Uttarakhand, came under fire in November 2023 when an under-construction mountain tunnel collapsed, trapping dozens of workers inside for several days with little water and oxygen. In August that year, more than a dozen workers were killed after a bridge under construction collapsed in the northeastern state of Mizoram. In June, a four-lane concrete bridge that was being built across the River Ganges in the eastern state of Bihar collapsed for the second time in just over a year, raising questions about the quality of its construction. — CNN
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Modi visits restive Indian region to inaugurate world's highest railway bridge
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first trip to the restive Kashmir region since April's deadly tourist massacre, to inaugurate the world's highest railway bridge. His Friday visit to India-administered Kashmir comes weeks after a brief but deadly conflict between India and Pakistan. The nuclear-armed neighbors traded missiles, drones, and artillery shelling for four days after New Delhi blamed the massacre on its neighbor, which Pakistan denies. Decades in the making, the arched Chenab Bridge sits 359 meters (about 1,180 feet) above the river of the same name – that's 29 meters (over 95 feet) higher than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Costing more than $160 million with a length of 1,315 meters (4,314 feet), the bridge is part of the first railway link between Kashmir and the rest of India. Modi's Hindu-nationalist government has moved to integrate the Muslim-majority region with the rest of the country, including revoking a constitutional provision that allowed it to set its own laws in 2019. The Himalayan region of Kashmir is claimed by India, Pakistan and China. All three administer a part of the region, one of the most militarized zones in the world. In addition to the Chenab Bridge, Modi also inaugurated the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project, which connects key cities in India-administered Kashmir to the rest of India. For Modi, who swept to power more than a decade ago on a ticket of nationalism and a promise of future greatness, investments in infrastructure like the Chenab Bridge and the broader rail link project can be seen as a powerful tool for social integration and political influence. Since he was first elected in 2014, the prime minister has rapidly expanded the region's road and rail connectivity, building networks that connect disparate towns with major cities. In 2019, New Delhi revoked a constitutional provision giving India-administered Kashmir the autonomy to set its own laws. The southern and eastern portions of the region known previously as the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir became two separate union territories, bringing them under direct control of New Delhi – a move Modi claimed would promote stability, reduce corruption and boost the economy. The Chenab Bridge is being hailed as a major win for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party government. His administration has poured billions into upgrading India's old and outdated transport network, part of its vision to transform the country into a developed nation by 2047. Among these ambitious projects is the construction of several tunnels and highways in the mountainous Himalayan region which has been criticized by some environmentalists who say the heavy construction could damage fragile topography already feeling the effects from the climate crisis. Modi's Char Dham Highway project, a multimillion-dollar infrastructure plan to improve connectivity in the state of Uttarakhand, came under fire in November 2023 when an under-construction mountain tunnel collapsed, trapping dozens of workers inside for several days with little water and oxygen. In August that year, more than a dozen workers were killed after a bridge under construction collapsed in the northeastern state of Mizoram. In June, a four-lane concrete bridge that was being built across the River Ganges in the eastern state of Bihar collapsed for the second time in just over a year, raising questions about the quality of its construction.
