Army Deploys 5 Columns with Medical Detachments, JKP, NDRF, Volunteers Join Massive Rescue Operation
Ruling – Opposition Leaders Join Hands in Relief & Rescue Operations
Imran Shah
KISHTWAR: – The rescue teams in cloudburst hit village Chishoti in Kishtwar District of J&K have retrieved atleast 47 bodies and evacuated 165 injured, mostly pilgrims from the debris and mudslides in the hilly region.
Thursday morning witnessed heavy rains in the hilly Padder Region that triggered a massive cloudburst as it hit the crowded area – community kitchens – where the people including pilgrims, and the locals, had gathered in large numbers in the wake of ongoing pilgrimage unaware about their fate.
The cloudburst washed away everything before anyone could have escaped to the safer places, the witnesses said, while recalling the horrific situation that left the people stunned.
There were hundreds of people in the area, when the cloudburst occurred and it washed away the people, temporary structures, houses, langer area, washed away a bridge over a Chashiti Nallah, besides triggering a flash flood, and mudslide.
https://thediplomat.digital/cloudburst-rescue-operation-air-force-alerted-for-evacuation-in-kishtwars-chashoti/
As the devastation spread, the locals informed the police and within a few hours, a massive rescue operation was launched in search of the surviving trapped people. However, the destruction was large-scale.
The total count of retrieved bodies of the missing people reached 47 bodies by late evening on August 14, 2025 whereas 165 injured were evacuated by the rescue teams, and they were shifted to the local hospital, and seriously injured were referred to the District Hospital, Kishtwar, as well as GMC Jammu.
Atleast 4 seriously injured persons have been referred and shifted to the Government Medical College and Hospital, Jammu.
Although the operation has been started in coordination by the civil, army, police, and NDRF/SDRF, the reports claim that more than 250 people, mostly pilgrims, and a few locals are still missing.
The operation to recover them is in progress and the teams are asking for advanced equipment and sniffer dogs so that the trapped victims could be rescued from the debris.
In this situation the ruling and opposition parties are jointly helping the people in Kishtwar, showcasing the unity to rescue and shift the victims to the hospital.
The DIG Kishtwar/Ramban/Doda Range, Shridhar Patil, Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar, Pankaj Kumar Sharma; SSP Kishtwar, Naresh Singh; Leader of Opposition, Sunil Kumar Sharma; MLA Kishtwar Shagun Parihar; and DDC Chairperson Kishtwar District, and NC senior leader, Pooja Thakur among others have also been actively engaged in the relief and rescue operations.
