Srinagar, Aug 14: Tragedy struck Kishtwar on Thursday when a massive cloudburst hit a remote mountain village, leaving 38 people, including two CISF personnel, dead and hundreds injured.
The incident occurred in Chasoti village en route to Machail Mata temple between 12 noon and 1 pm when a large number of people had gathered for the Machail Mata Yatra. The shrine is an 8.5 km trek from the village. The cloudburst triggered flash floods and extensive damage. The sudden surge of water swept through parts of the village, destroying property and severing road links to remote areas.
“A massive Cloud burst in the Chositi area, which could result in substantial casualties. Administration has immediately swung into action, the rescue team has left for the site,” Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in a post on X.
Soon after the cloudburst, Ababeel Trust, a local NGO, mobilized seven ambulances and ferried the injured to the hospitals. Ababeel was among the first responders to help rescue operations. “Our 25 volunteers are on the spot. We have mobilized seven to eight ambulances to help in ferrying the injured to the hospital,” said Syed Imran, who led the Ababeel team.
The annual yatra to the shrine was suspended following the tragedy as authorities mobilised all resources and headed to the scene to conduct a massive rescue and relief operation, the officials said.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been rushed from Udhampur to Kishtwar.
The death toll could go up as more people are believed to be trapped, officials said, adding that 120 people have been rescued so far. Of these, the condition of 38 is said to be serious.
Immediately after the calamity struck Chositi on Thursday, Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma, along with the senior superintendent of police, mobilised rescue teams and headed towards the spot to personally supervise the operations.
The UT administration has set up a control room-cum-help desk to assist people and pilgrims following flash floods triggered by a cloudburst. The relief and rescue operations are currently underway.
The numbers provided are: 9858223125, 6006701934, 9797504078, 8492886895, 8493801381, and 7006463710. Besides these, the district control room numbers are 01995-259555 and 9484217492, and the police control room number of Kishtwar is 9906154100.
While a large-scale rescue operation was already launched by NDRF, SDRF, police, Army, and local volunteers, the authorities have mobilised more rescuers, including two fresh teams of NDRF from Jammu to speed up the rescue efforts, officials said.
Army’s White Knight Corps said efforts are on to safeguard lives and aid the survivors. “In the aftermath of a cloudburst at Chisoti (Chositi) village, Kishtwar, troops of White Knight Corps swiftly mobilised for rescue and relief ops (operations). Efforts are centred on safeguarding lives and aiding survivors. Search for the missing continues. Relief stores, medical teams, and rescue gear rushed to the site. We Serve, We Protect,” the corps said in an X post.