At least 30 people, including two CISF jawans, have died and more than 100 are missing after a massive cloudburst struck Chositi village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday, triggering flash floods and large-scale destruction, official sources said.
They told Srinagar-based news-gathering agency Kashmir Dot Com that all-but 100 people have been injured, among them 37 critically, who have been shifted to the District Hospital Kishtwar. Around 50 others are undergoing treatment at the Sub-District Hospital in Paddar.
Sources said that dozens of people remain unaccounted for, and large-scale rescue operations are underway.
The disaster hit between 12 noon and 1 pm, when a large number of devotees had gathered in Chositi — the last motorable village on the route to the Machail Mata temple — for the annual pilgrimage. The 8.5-kilometre trek to the 9,500-feet-high shrine begins from the village. Officials fear the toll may rise further as rescue teams continue to search for survivors and retrieve bodies from the debris.
A ‘langar’ (community kitchen) set up for pilgrims bore the brunt of the flash floods, which also swept away several structures, including shops and a security outpost. Multiple houses clustered in the foothills were damaged or destroyed. Chositi is about 90 kilometres from Kishtwar town.
Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma mobilised rescue teams immediately after the calamity and headed to the spot with the Senior Superintendent of Police to personally oversee operations. Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been dispatched from Udhampur, while the Army, SDRF, police, and volunteers are engaged in the rescue work.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh described the situation as “serious” in a post on X, saying the administration had swung into action and that he was in touch with the district officials. Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed anguish over the tragedy, offering condolences to the bereaved families and instructing agencies to “strengthen the rescue and relief operations and ensure all possible assistance to the affected.”
The Machail Mata yatra has been suspended following the incident as resources are diverted to rescue efforts.
Leaders across party lines, including Leader of Opposition Sunil Kumar Sharma, former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, and BJP leader Jehanzaib Sirwal, have expressed grief. Sirwal also warned of environmental dangers from unchecked hydro-power projects in Kishtwar, urging immediate reviews to prevent future disasters.
Rescuers are battling through challenging terrain and adverse weather, with officials warning that the true scale of the disaster may emerge only in the coming days. (KDC)
