37 people, mostly pilgrims, die in Kishtwar cloudburst, 100 injured: Officials
The disaster, reportedly triggered by a cloudburst, took place in Chasoti village by the banks of Chishoti Nullah (a rivulet), a stopover point on a popular pilgrimage route to Mata Machail temple in Padder area. The pilgrimage began on July 25, and over 130,000 pilgrims have already paid obeisance at the shrine.
A police officer said a cloudburst in Chishoti Nullah triggered massive flash floods around noon on Thursday. 'The deluge hit a community kitchen set up for the pilgrims where 100 to 150 pilgrims were having food,' the officer said.
A cloudburst, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, is a sudden downpour of over 100 mm of rain in just one hour, which can trigger floods, landslides, and devastation, especially in mountainous regions during the monsoon.
Kishtwar district commissioner Pankaj Kumar Sharma said 37 people have died so far and over a 100 are injured. There are chances of more dead bodies being found, he said.
Inspector General of Police Jammu zone BS Tuti said most of the victims were pilgrims and the casualty figures were exoected to rise.
The injured were rushed to the sub-district hospital at Atholi, many were shifted to the district hospital in Kishtwar 80km away.
Apart from the community kitchen, three-four houses located close to the rivulet were also swept away.
Much of the Chishoti village is safe since it is located at some distance from the rivulet and is on a slope.
Personnel of the Indian Army, Border Security Force, State Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force have been deployed.
A Gulabgarh resident, Deepak Singh said the situation was 'very grim'.
'About 150 pilgrims had taken shelter in the Langar when a cloudburst hit the area,' he said.
He said the CISF had set up a picket near the community kitchen, which was also swept away in the torrent of water and debris along with vehicles which were parked. Chasoti village was the last motorable village on the way to the shrine.
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