MUZAFFARABAD: An elderly man and his two granddaughters lost their lives while three other young family members received minor wounds after a portion of their mud house collapsed on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at about 5am in Palahal village of Charhol, said Abdul Hameed Kiani, deputy commissioner of Kotli district, of which Charhoi is a subdivision. The victims were asleep in one room while other family members were out of home at the time of incident, as per their daily routine, he said.

The roof of that room caved in due to the split in its wooden beam, he added.

Mr Kiani said by the time the heap of earth was removed by the rescuers, three of the victims who were sleeping exactly beneath the beam had died and the remaining three who were at a distance were slightly injured.

The deceased were identified as Raja Rasheed, 71, Ansa Fareed, 14, and Anisa Fareed, 12. They were laid to rest in the afternoon.

Danish Fareed, 15, Zaira Shahzad, 14, and Aiman Shakil, 3, were relieved after treatment. Staff Correspondent