Cloudburst In Kishtwar Claims 65 Lives So Far, Rescue Operations Continue

National News: A cloudburst in Chashoti village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday created devastation. Relief and rescue operations continued throughout Friday, but the bodies pulled out from the debris highlighted the severity of the situation. So far, 65 deaths have been confirmed, while nearly 100 people remain missing.

Due to rain and debris, many houses, community kitchens, shops, and security posts in the village were completely destroyed. In addition, a 30-meter-long bridge collapsed, completely blocking the route of the Machail Mata Yatra.

Rescue And Relief Work

Teams of the Army, Police, NDRF, and SDRF reached the spot and started rescue operations. Local people are also engaged in searching for those trapped under the debris. The weather provided some relief on Friday, allowing the rescue work to be intensified.

Army personnel built a temporary wooden bridge on the broken Machail Yatra route and, with the help of ropes, evacuated pilgrims and locals one by one. The administration said that so far, about 5,000 people have been moved to safe places.

Treatment Of The Injured

Around 200 people have been rescued, of which more than 100 are injured. They have been admitted to hospitals in Jammu and Kishtwar. The seriously injured have been referred to Jammu Medical College.

At the time of the incident, nearly 10,000 pilgrims were present on the Machail Yatra route. Due to the bridge being washed away and road closure, they got stranded on the way. Out of these, around 5,000 pilgrims spent the night in shelter locations near the temple, Hamori village, and surrounding areas.

Massive Loss

This disaster has damaged 16 houses, several government buildings, three temples, four water mills, and dozens of vehicles. Due to the heavy crowd near the community kitchen and bridge, the loss of life and property has been higher.

Administration Monitoring

Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma and senior police officials have set up camp at the site. Due to bad weather, helicopters could not be used, so all teams are reaching by road.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to get information about the situation and assured all possible help. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah will visit the site of the incident on Saturday.

Hopes Of Survivors Fading Away

Since Friday morning, bodies have been recovered from the debris, but with every passing hour, hopes of finding survivors are fading. The administration said that some bodies were found in the debris of the same roadside eatery where many people had stopped to eat.

What Did Omar Abdullah Say?

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the incident and said it is a matter of investigation whether the administration was sufficiently alert about the warning beforehand. He questioned that if there was already a heavy rainfall alert, were proper steps taken at the ground level?