Cloudburst in Kishtwar, Jammu and Kashmir; 100 Missing, 167 Rescued

The death toll in the flood caused by the cloudburst in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir has reached 65, with about 100 citizens missing. Overcoming the obstacles of rain, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force, police, army, and local volunteers were engaged in rescue operations on Friday (August 15, 2025).

This accident occurred on Thursday (14 August 2025) at 12:30 PM in the village of Chisoti. This village is the last motorable point on the route to the Machail Mata pilgrimage. Due to the crowd that had come for the pilgrimage, a large number of people were present in the village. The village was battered by waves of water along with mud and stones. So far, 46 bodies have been recovered, including 2 Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel.

The rescue teams have safely evacuated 167 injured people, and relatives have reported 69 people missing. In this disaster, there has been significant damage to homes, temples, government buildings, bridges, watermills, and vehicles. The market stalls, langar, and security camps set up for the pilgrimage also collapsed in the flood's impact. The rescue operation had to be halted late Thursday night but resumed early Friday morning. Due to bad weather, helicopters could not be used, so the NDRF team reached from Udhampur by road.