Massive Cloudburst Strikes Kishtwar’s Chishoti, 10 Feared Dead

Officials stated that at least 10 people were dead after a devastating cloudburst struck Chishoti village in the Padder sub-division of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday. The remote Himalayan village is located on the sacred Machail Mata Yatra track and many of the fatalities were likely the result of a tragedy that occurred within a few minutes while residents and pilgrims were traversing perilous monsoon season. 

Witnesses reported a loud noise of sudden thundering followed by large walls of mud and water and the flowing debris that rushed through the village towards the Chenab River. “It all happened within minutes. There was little time to escape,” a villager told reporters, holding back tears as he gestured toward the destroyed buildings.

Union Minister reacted about cloudburst

Union Minister Jitendra Singh has said that he was informed by local MLA and opposition leader Sunil Kumar Sharma and immediately phoned Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma. “A huge cloudburst in Chositi area may lead to heavy casualty. The administration has moved into action, rescue teams are en route, and medical arrangements are being made,” Singh tweeted, promising all the help possible.

Rescue groups of the administration, Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been sent to the area, but the authorities say it will not be easy to reach Chishoti because of its mountainous terrain and destroyed road appraches.

The disaster follows neighbouring Himachal Pradesh fighting a killing monsoon season which has already taken the lives of 241 people since June 20, with 126 fatalities as a result of rain-induced disasters like landslides, cloudbursts, flash flooding, and lightning.

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