The number of deaths in the cloudburst tragedy in the Chisoti village of Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district rose to 60, with more than 100 people injured, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Friday amid a race against time to search and rescue several people buried under the debris.
Speaking at the Independence Day celebrations at Srinagar's Bakshi Stadium, Abdullah offered condolences to the families of the deceased and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
He also assured the people of Kishtwar of offering all possible help to those affected and those people whose houses were left ravaged in the cloudburst incident, which occurred on Thursday.
Kishtwar cloudburst: NDRF joins rescue ops
Meanwhile, a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) reached the cloudburst-hit village to look for survivors and bodies that are feared trapped in the debris.
Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Sharma told PTI that helicopters could not be operated due to bad weather, so the NDRF team came by road from Udhampur.
Officials said two more teams are on their way to join the operation, as the scale of destruction is extensive.
The Army has deployed an additional column to step up the search and rescue efforts, with Rashtriya Rifles troops also joining the mission.
Over five columns, each comprising 60 personnel and totalling 300 troops, along with medical detachments from the White Knight Corps, are working on the ground in close coordination with the police, SDRF, and other civilian agencies to save lives and assist those affected.
PM Modi speaks to CM, LG Sinha
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to J&K CM Omar Abdullah and LG Manoj Sinha on the tragedy in the wake of the cloud burst in Kishtwar. He took stock of the situation and offered all possible assistance.
Kishtwar cloudburst: What actually happened
Disaster struck Chositi, the last motorable village on the route to the Machail Mata temple, at around 12.25 pm on Thursday, killing at least 60 people, including two CISF personnel.
A large crowd had gathered in the village for the annual Machail Mata yatra, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to conclude on September 5. The 8.5 km trek to the 9,500-feet shrine starts from Chositi, located about 90 km from Kishtwar town. The yatra remained suspended for a second consecutive day on Friday.
So far, 167 injured people have been rescued, while 69 have been reported missing by their relatives. Many more are feared trapped after the deluge swept through the area, flattening a makeshift market, a langar (community kitchen) site for the yatra, and a security outpost.
The flash floods in Chositi and downstream damaged at least 16 residential houses and government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre span bridge, and more than a dozen vehicles, officials said.
