Rescue Operations Continue for Third Day in Kishtwar; 60 Dead, Over 100 Injured

PTI |  August 16, 2025 | Kishtwar/Jammu : A massive rescue and relief operation entered its third day on Saturday in Chisoti, a remote village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, where flash floods and landslides triggered by a cloudburst have left at least 60 people dead and more than 100 injured, officials confirmed.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh, accompanied by Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat, visited the devastated village late Friday night to assess the ground situation. He reviewed the coordinated efforts being undertaken by the Army, police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), civil administration, and local volunteers working tirelessly in the treacherous high-altitude terrain.

Authorities reported that 46 bodies have so far been identified and handed over to their families after completion of legal formalities. However, 75 people remain officially missing, even as eyewitnesses and local residents fear the toll may be much higher, with many victims believed to have been swept away by surging waters or buried beneath massive boulders, logs, and debris.

Among the deceased are two personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and a Special Police Officer (SPO), highlighting the widespread impact of the tragedy that struck both pilgrims and security forces.

The disaster occurred at approximately 12:25 p.m. on August 14 in Chisoti—the last motorable village on the route to the Machail Mata temple, a revered shrine perched 9,500 feet above sea level. The flash floods flattened a makeshift market, a langar (community kitchen) for pilgrims, and a security outpost. At least 16 residential houses and government structures, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre bridge, and more than a dozen vehicles were also destroyed.

The calamity forced the suspension of the annual Machail Mata yatra for the third consecutive day. The pilgrimage, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to conclude on September 5, involves an 8.5-kilometre uphill trek from Chisoti to the shrine and attracts thousands of devotees each year.

Rescue efforts have been intensified with the deployment of nearly a dozen earth-moving machines, while NDRF teams are using advanced equipment and dog squads to trace survivors and recover bodies from under the rubble. Despite the scale of destruction and difficult weather conditions, teams are working round the clock to restore access and provide relief to the affected population.

“After a long, tedious uphill drive, managed to reach the site of the cloudburst disaster in Kishtwar… very late, around midnight,” Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in a social media post following his visit. He added that he had been briefed by the DGP and other officials on the progress of rescue and relief operations.

Officials said the priority remains tracing the missing, rehabilitating survivors, and ensuring medical aid for the injured, even as fears persist that the casualty count could rise further in the coming days.