KISHTWAR, Kashmir — A massive cloudburst unleashed deadly flash floods in a remote mountain village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday, killing at least 46 people — including two paramilitary personnel — and injuring dozens more, as rescue teams battled treacherous terrain and fading daylight, reported by Kashmir Media News.
The disaster struck Chositi, the last motorable point on the pilgrimage route to the 9,500-foot-high Machail Mata shrine, between noon and 1 p.m. when hundreds of devotees had gathered for the annual yatra. Torrents of mud, rocks, and silt roared down the Himalayan slopes, sweeping away a community kitchen, small shops, homes, and even a security post.
By nightfall, 167 people had been pulled from the wreckage, 38 in critical condition. Officials fear the death toll could rise as dozens remain trapped or missing. Videos from the scene showed houses collapsing like paper, while boulders blocked rescue routes and turned the once-green valley into a grim, debris-strewn expanse.
The calamity comes just nine days after flash floods ravaged Dharali village in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district, underscoring the fragility of India’s Himalayan belt amid intensifying extreme weather events.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sorrow and pledged full support for rescue and relief efforts. “The situation is being monitored closely,” Modi wrote on X, while Murmu called the loss of life “extremely tragic.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said additional National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were being deployed. Alongside the NDRF, the State Disaster Response Force, police, Army’s White Knight Corps, and local volunteers are working in tandem, with helicopters, medical teams, and relief supplies rushed in.
Authorities suspended the annual yatra and canceled Independence Day cultural celebrations in the region. Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma and senior officials are personally overseeing operations.
Local leaders have also raised concerns about unchecked infrastructure expansion. BJP leader Jehanzaib Sirwal warned that the proliferation of hydroelectric projects without stringent environmental safeguards threatens the region’s fragile ecosystem.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha voiced “anguish” over the tragedy, directing all agencies to “strengthen rescue and relief operations and ensure every possible assistance is provided.”
With monsoon rains continuing and rescue crews racing against time, Chositi’s survival now hinges on clearing blocked routes, finding the missing, and bringing the wounded to safety.
