Youth drowns in Bandipora; SDRF continues search
Younus Rashid
Pahalgam/Bandipora, May 31: A youth died, and his father was hospitalised after a drowning incident in Bandipora on Sunday, while rescue teams continued a search operation in Pahalgam for a man who drowned while attempting to save his son after the boy slipped into the Lidder River.
In the first incident, Ubaid Ahmad Wani, son of Shabir Ahmad Wani and a resident of Nadihal in Bandipora district, died after being swept away in a river in the Surinder Nallah area. His father, Shabir Ahmad Wani, was rescued alive and shifted to District Hospital Bandipora before being referred to SKIMS Soura for specialised treatment.
Dr Mohsin Qadir, who was on duty at District Hospital Bandipora, said the hospital received information about the incident at around 4:30 pm and immediately activated emergency response measures.
“One of the victims was first brought to us. We stabilised the father, who was in a serious condition. There was a possibility of pulmonary oedema and aspiration pneumonia. After providing first aid, he was referred to SKIMS Soura for advanced treatment,” he said.
Dr Qadir said Ubaid was brought to the hospital nearly ten minutes later. “We made every possible effort to revive him, but unfortunately, he could not be revived and was declared brought dead,” he added.
Meanwhile, in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort, a rescue operation continued till late evening to retrieve the body of a man who drowned in the Lidder River near the Sarbal-Langanbal area.
The incident occurred when a family from Srinagar had stopped at the spot during a picnic outing. According to relatives, a young boy, identified as Fahad Mir, apparently slipped into the fast-flowing water.
Family members and residents immediately rushed to the child’s rescue. Eyewitnesses said the boy was eventually pulled out safely after drifting some distance downstream.
However, during the rescue attempt, the child’s father entered the river and was swept away by the strong current.
Relatives and officials identified the man as Mohammad Ashraf Mir, son of Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir, a resident of Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar, who works as an AC mechanic.
A relative said several families had travelled together to the tourist destination in three vehicles and were spending time along the riverbank when the incident occurred between 10:30 am and 11:00 am.
“When the child slipped into the water, people immediately rushed towards him. He was rescued, but his father also entered the river and has not been traced since,” the relative said.
Teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), police and other agencies launched a search operation soon after receiving information about the incident. The search operation was continuing till the filing of this report.