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Kishtwar Cloudburst: 7 bodies recovered, 17 rescued, 6 critical, 26 missing
An officer at the Kishtwar police control room said 26 people were missing and “chances of their survival looked grim”. He said the cloud burst in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district was reported at 4 am on Wednesday and initially 28 people were reported missing.
At least seven people were killed and 17 others were injured, five of them critically while 26 remained missing after flash floods hit Honjar village in Jammu & Kashmir’s Kishtwar district following a cloud burst early Wednesday. Officials said they managed to rescue 17 people amid heavy rain in the region.
“Seven bodies have been recovered so far from the debris and 17 injured were rescued. Out of the injured, six critically injured were shifted to Kishtwar district hospital,” additional director general of police (ADGP) Mukesh Singh said. He added that a rescue team of Kishtwar police was at work.
Another officer at the Kishtwar police control room said 26 people remained missing and “chances of their survival looked grim”. He said the cloud burst was reported at 4 am on Wednesday and initially 28 people were reported missing. A defence spokesman too confirmed that approximately 26 persons were feared to be missing.
“On a request from the civil administration, two columns of the Indian Army were launched to carry out rescue operations in village Honzar. The village was caught in a flash flood due to a cloud burst, which led to the sudden rise in water level in the Malu and Nath rivulets. Approximately 26 persons are feared to be missing and more than 15 houses and dhoks (sheds of nomads) have also been submerged under the water or were washed away,” he said.
The Indian Army has also made provision of meals for 100 persons and provided dry rations to the affected. The weather conditions over the village continue to remain poor, thereby increasing the difficulty in rescue and relief operations.
Earlier, Kishtwar’s senior police superintendent Shafqat Bhat said they believed 30 to 40 people were in Honjar village, around 50km from Kishtwar district headquarters, at the time of the cloudburst. He said bridges have been washed away in the area and a local river was in full spate.
In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the Centre is closely monitoring the situation. “...in the wake of the cloudbursts in #Kishtwar and #Kargil (Ladakh). All possible assistance is being made available in the affected areas. I pray for everyone’s safety and well-being.”
Officials said air force, army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were rushed for the rescue operations.
Union Home minister Amit Shah said saving as many lives as possible was the priority. “I have spoken to the L-G (lieutenant governor) and the DGP (director general of police) of Jammu & Kashmir regarding the cloudburst in Kishtwar. SDRF, Army & local administration are carrying out the rescue operation. NDRF is also reaching there.”
Officials said SDRF teams from Doda, Udhampur, and Jammu have been rushed to Kishtwar while a team of NDRF and SDRF each were on standby in Srinagar. SDRF commandant VK Singh said a police team left for the scene on foot. “The area is in the upper reaches of Kishtwar, not accessible by road. Jammu SDRF is on standby. The weather is inclement. One team of SDRF from Srinagar is ready to be airlifted,” said Singh.
A number of big and small bridges in Dachhan, Kundal and Chasoti area of Paddar and Dachan in Kishtwar had been washed away along with several other bridges between Gulabgarh to Machail.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said widespread intermittent rain was most likely to continue till July 30 in Jammu & Kashmir. “Heavy to very heavy rain is also possible at some places,” it said. The department warned that heavy rains may lead to flash floods, mudslides, landslides, and water logging in low-lying areas. “Accordingly, people are once again advised to remain alert and very cautious as water levels have risen in all rivers. Don’t venture out on hilly and landslide, mudslide prone areas.”
Meanwhile, another cloudburst triggered flash floods near the cave shrine of Shri Amarnath in South Kashmir on Wednesday.
“The incident occurred near the cave shrine. There was no loss of life but big boulders came crashing down in the flash floods near the cave shrine. Security personnel deployed near the cave shrine had a narrow escape,” said a police officer.
The pilgrimage was cancelled for the second year running in view of the Covid pandemic.
