Shyam Sood
Rajouri, May 4: Several persons, including women, children, had a miraculous escape when a boundary wall of a house collapsed during wedding celebrations in the Danidhar area of the Rajouri Municipal Council on Sunday evening.
Panic broke out during a wedding ceremony in the Kappa Kha area of Dhanidhar when a boundary wall of the house hosting the event collapsed due to heavy showers, injuring around 22 people, including the bride, who were trapped under the debris.
According to reports, the incident took place between 7:30 and 8:00 PM at the residence of Mohammad Adrees, where the wedding festivities were taking place. The bride had returned home in the evening after the marriage procession had left earlier in the morning. Heavy and torrential rain began around 6:00 to 6:30 PM, which is believed to have weakened the structure, leading to the collapse.
It is reported that pipes were placed on top of the wall, and a tent was tied to them. The wall, along with the pipes and tent, collapsed on the people gathered underneath, resulting in injuries to 22 individuals, including women and children.
Residents, with the help of police, rushed the injured to the Associated Hospital GMC Rajouri.
According to Dr. Shamim Ahmed, the Medical Superintendent of GMC, two children, namely 16-year-old Anaya Kousar and 8-year-old Airam, among the injured, were in critical condition and were referred to Jammu for further treatment.
The rest are under medical care and are reported to be in stable condition.
The injured who were brought to GMC have been identified as Saima Akhtar w/o Mohd Khalil, Sartal Begum (35) w/o Mohd Din Ayan s/o Zulfiqar Ali, Sarish d/o Zulfiqar Ali, Zera Hayat d/o Mohd Alyas, Tazeem Akhtar (29) w/o Munir Hussain, Shaheen Akhtar (32) w/o Mohd Arif, Jameela Akhter (42) w/o Mohd Maqsood, Mohd Zubair (14) s/o Mehmood Ahmed, Mumtaz Begum (47) w/o Mohd Rashid, Maryam Akhter (35), w/o Mohd Khaliq, Muneeza Akhter (39) w/o Mohd Naseer, Mumtaz Begum (57) w/o Mohd Kallu, Anaya Kouser (16) d/o Zaffer Iqbal, (referred to GMC Jammu], Mairya Kouser w/o Imtiaz Ahmed, Qadir Hussain s/o Mehandi Hussain, Araram Amin (8) d/o Mohd Imran (referred to GMC Jammu), Yasmeen Akhtar (42) w/o Mohd Shafiq, Rehan Khan (18) s/o Qadir Hussain, and Mumtaz Begum w/o Mohd Din.
The authorities have started an investigation into the mishap.
