Kishtwar/Jammu, Aug 16,2025 : Rescue and relief operations entered the third day on Saturday in Chisoti village of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, where at least 60 people have died and more than 100 sustained injuries in flash floods triggered by a cloudburst, officials said.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, along with J&K DGP Nalin Prabhat, visited the devastated village late Friday night to review the operations being carried out jointly by the Army, Police, NDRF, SDRF, BRO, civil administration, and local volunteers in the high-altitude terrain.
So far, 46 bodies have been identified and handed over to families. While 75 people remain officially missing, locals fear the toll could be far higher, with many believed to be trapped under boulders, logs, and debris. Among the deceased are two CISF personnel and a Special Police Officer (SPO).
The disaster struck Chisoti—the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata temple—around 12:25 pm on August 14. The flash floods flattened a makeshift market, a langar (community kitchen), a security post, 16 houses, three temples, four water mills, a 30-meter bridge, and several vehicles.
The annual Machail Mata Yatra, which began on July 25 and was to conclude on September 5, has been suspended for the third consecutive day. The 8.5-km trek to the 9,500-ft-high shrine starts from Chisoti, about 90 km from Kishtwar town.
Rescue efforts have been scaled up with heavy machinery, dog squads, and specialized equipment deployed on-site. “After a long, tedious uphill drive, managed to reach the site of the cloudburst disaster in Kishtwar… very late, around midnight,” Union Minister Jitendra Singh said in a social media post after his visit.
