Kishtwar Cloudburst: Search For Trapped Victims Enters Day 4 As 80 Missing; Army Builds Bailey

Chisoti (JK), Aug 17 (PTI) Amid overcast conditions, the search operation to trace those missing in the cloudburst in this remote village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district entered the fourth day on Sunday with rescuers hopeful of clearing a major impact spot during the day, officials said.

Army engineers, meanwhile, have started working on a bailey bridge to restore connectivity to the village and the Machail Mata shrine and further intensify the rescue efforts.

Cloudburst struck Chisoti, the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata temple, on August 14, killing 60 persons and leaving 80 others missing, while 167 persons were rescued in an injured condition.

The flash-floods triggered by the cloudburst left a trail of destruction, flattening a makeshift market, a langar (community kitchen) site for the yatra, damaging 16 houses and government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre-long bridge, besides over a dozen vehicles.

Giant boulders were also left scattered at various spots, especially around the worst-hit langar site and some of them hampering the search were blasted in a controlled explosion by the rescuers on Saturday evening.

The officials said the joint teams of police, army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), civil administration, and local volunteers are continuing the rescue efforts.

So far, 50 bodies have been identified and handed over to their next of kin after completion of legal formalities.

General Officer Commanding of the army’s counter-insurgency Delta Force Maj Gen A P S Bal said army engineers have conducted a survey of the area after a need for the bridge was felt.

“We need a 17-metre bridge which will be installed to facilitate smooth movement across the river,” the officer said, adding the structure will be completed by Sunday evening.

He said the army responded to the disaster within 45 minutes after getting the information.

“We are here because of the people. As you know, our country’s policy nowadays is the whole of nation approach. So, if there is any security issue, not just physical security, but all kinds of security has to be provided, the whole of nation approach has to be followed,” he said.

He said all the security forces deployed are trying their best to help as many people as possible.

“Besides saving lives, we also tried to provide them with medicine, food, and all kinds of things that we could provide,” he said.

The annual Machail Mata yatra, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to conclude on September 5, remained suspended for the fourth consecutive day on Sunday.

The 8.5-km trek to the 9,500-foot-high shrine starts from Chisoti, located about 90 km from Kishtwar town.

The rescuers are utilising over a dozen earth-movers and other heavy equipment while the NDRF mobilised its resources, including dog squads, to speed up the rescue operation. PTI TAS TAS DV DV