MUZAFFARABAD: One person was killed and four members of his family were injured after a landslide struck a house in Mirpur on Sunday.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Yasir Riaz informed Dawn by telephone that a landslide struck the mud and brick house in Ban Khurman neighbourhood of Mirpur at around 2:30pm. It caused part of the roof to collapse, trapping five people under the debris.

According to the DC, rescue teams managed to pull out the trapped individuals within an hour and rushed them to the Divisional Headquarters Hospital in Mirpur, where the 16-year-old boy, Zile Haider, was pronounced dead on arrival by doctors.

The injured victims included the father of the deceased, Akhtar Iqbal, 38, and his two other sons, Zaryab, 10, and Turab, 9, along with their cousin, Kazim Khan, 12. Fortunately, their injuries were not life-threatening. Mr Iqbal’s wife, who was in an adjacent room at the time of the collapse, remained unharmed.

DC Riaz said the recent rains had rendered the mound of soil above the house unstable, leading to the landslide. He said tents and other relief supplies were provided to the affected family.

Suspected thief shoots himself

A suspected thief reportedly shot himself dead during the recovery of stolen items in his village, located on the border of Poonch and Bagh districts in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Sunday, police said.

Muharar Ali Hassan at Datot police station in Poonch district told Dawn that 24-year-old Mohammad Sabeel, a resident of Mohri Farman Shah village, had stolen gold and other valuable items worth Rs15 million from the house of Abdul Hameed Shaheen in Behrri Pachiot village approximately five to six months ago.

The suspect, who lived in a portion of Mr Shaheen’s house and also looked after it during the owner’s absence, was apprehended by SHO Asim Riaz Abbasi on Sunday. During preliminary investigations, he confessed to his crime, the muharar said.

According to the him, the SHO and three other officials took Sabeel to his house to recover the stolen goods.

“After handing over some of the stolen items, the suspect retrieved a pistol from beneath a bed and shot himself dead,” he said.

The body was subsequently taken to Bagh for an autopsy, he said, adding that further information on the incident could only be provided by the SHO.

No independent verification of the official account was available.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2024