Examiner Bureau | Anantnag:
A 42-year-old Srinagar resident is feared dead after being swept away by strong currents in the Lidder River while attempting to rescue his son near the Langanbal area of Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Sunday.
According to officials, Mohammad Ashraf Mir, son of Ghulam Mohiuddin Mir and a resident of Jawahar Nagar, Srinagar, had travelled to Pahalgam with his family on a leisure trip. Mir, who worked as an air-conditioner mechanic in the private sector, was reportedly taking photographs with his family near the riverbank close to the Kolahoi Green Hotel when the incident occurred.
Officials said his son, Fahad, accidentally slipped into the fast-flowing river. In an attempt to save him, Mir jumped into the water but lost his footing and was swept away by the current.
Locals present at the scene managed to rescue the child safely. However, Mir went missing in the river and is feared to have drowned.
A rescue operation was immediately launched by local authorities. Teams from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), along with rafting units, have been deployed to trace the missing man.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident in north Kashmir’s Tangmarg area, a three-year-old boy, identified as Abu Bakar, lost his life after drowning in a canal in Chhanpora.
The child was rushed to Sub-District Hospital Tangmarg after being pulled from the water, but doctors declared him dead on arrival, officials said.
Authorities said investigations into both incidents are underway, while rescue efforts in Pahalgam continue.
