Mother-daughter duo drown in Doda

Bhadarwah: A mother-daughter duo drowned in a fast flowing stream in a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district, police said on Sunday.

Zarina (17) accidentally fell into the stream while crossing it at Chilli-Pingal village. Her mother Sameena Begum (43) jumped into it to rescue her but both of them were swept away by the strong current, Superintendent of Police, Bhadarwah, Raj Singh Gouria said.

He said they were part of a group of women who were returning from the woods Saturday evening after collecting morchella (wild mushrooms), locally known as ‘guchhi’.

Quoting eyewitnesses, Gouria said Zarina went first to cross the wooden log over the stream but lost balance and fell into the water. Her mother who was following her jumped to rescue her.

Both of them were swept away by the strong current and later their bodies were fished out by the villagers before the arrival of police, the officer said.

The villagers said the death of the duo raised the number of those who lost their lives while crossing the stream over the past two years to four.

“We have made repeated requests for a bridge over the stream but no action was taken so far,” a villager said.