Ganderbal, Sep 7: Two persons lost their lives after they reportedly jumped into a power canal at Thune in Kangan area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on Monday, officials said.
Soon after information about the incident was received, personnel from Kangan Police, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), along with local residents, rushed to the spot and launched a search operation to trace the two persons.
After sustained efforts, the bodies of both persons were subsequently recovered from the power canal. The bodies were taken out from the canal as rescue teams continued operations in the area.
The circumstances leading to the incident, however, remain unclear. Authorities have not yet established what prompted the two persons to enter the canal or the exact sequence of events preceding the incident.
The incident has once again brought into focus the recurring incidents of drowning and body recoveries from the power canal in the Thune-Kangan belt.
In February this year, two brothers from Thune-Kangan had fallen into the canal. While one of them was rescued, the other, identified as Tanveer Ahmad Tedwa, was swept away after entering the canal while attempting to save his brother. His body was later recovered following a search operation.
In May, the body of a 19-year-old girl, who had been missing for several days, was recovered from the canal at Thune after a search operation was conducted along the canal stretch between Sumbal and Kangan.
Similarly, in June, two persons drowned in the power canal in the Gund area of Kangan. Rescue teams later recovered their bodies from different locations along the canal.
Earlier in April, an unidentified man’s body was also recovered from the power canal at Thune, adding to the growing number of such incidents reported from the area.
The repeated drowning incidents have raised concerns among local residents over the safety of the canal, particularly its depth and strong water currents. A 2021 report had also highlighted local concerns regarding the canal and referred to several drowning incidents involving teenagers in the preceding years.
With another incident being reported from the same belt, residents have once again urged authorities to strengthen safety measures and take steps to prevent people, particularly young people, from approaching or entering the canal.
Further details regarding the identities of the two persons and the circumstances surrounding the incident are awaited.
