Jammu, Aug 16, 2025 : Two days after a devastating cloudburst struck Chisoti village in Kishtwar district, families of the missing continue to cling to hope as coordinated rescue operations entered the third day on Saturday.
Officials said 82 people — including 81 pilgrims and a CISF personnel — are still missing. While Jammu, Udhampur, and Samba accounted for the majority of 60 missing persons, others hailed from Doda, Reasi, Rajouri, as well as Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh.
The August 14 disaster, which claimed 60 lives and left more than 100 injured, flattened a makeshift market, a langar site for the Machail Mata Yatra, a security post, 16 houses, government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre bridge, and several vehicles. The annual yatra remains suspended for the third day.
In villages across Jammu region, grief runs deep. In Benagarh, locals await news of seven residents — including four children — still missing. “We are hopeful the rescuers will find them alive,” said Ajay Kumar, a relative.
A grieving mother from Jammu, searching for her missing daughters Vanshika and Disha, broke down: “I saw my world crashing before my eyes. My daughters have gone away from me.” Her husband said he scoured hospitals and mortuaries in vain.
In Bishnah, the body of Happy Sharma, one of the missing, was recovered and cremated, while six others from the locality, including five children, remain untraced. From Samba’s Sarai village, Poonam and her daughters Rashika and Namika are still missing, while her husband and son survived. Entire families from Samba’s Vijaypur, Jammu’s New Plot, and Janipur localities are among those yet to be found.
As of now, 46 bodies have been identified and handed over to families. Rescuers from the Army, Police, NDRF, SDRF, BRO, civil administration, and local volunteers continue to dig through the rubble with heavy machinery and sniffer dogs.
