Pilgrimage Route Hit as Flash Flood Kills Dozens in Kashmir
The brunt of the flooding struck Chashoti, a village on the southern, Jammu side of the territory, along the route of the Machail Mata Yatra, a Hindu pilgrimage that draws hundreds of thousands of devotees. The burst of rain came around noon, sending water and debris crashing through the settlement. Makeshift shops, community kitchens, a security camp and parking areas were destroyed.
Local officials said hundreds of people were in Chashoti at the time, which is the last base camp before the trek to the shrine. The annual event typically attracts nearly 300,000 pilgrims.
Many of the injured were taken to hospitals in the district, with some in critical condition.
Mannan Sharma, a 12-year-old pilgrim, saw how swiftly a Himalayan flood can strike. He said by phone that he, his sister and their parents were descending a steep stretch from the shrine when he heard a loud bang. Within a minute, Mannan said, the floodwaters swept away all four of them. They were later rescued and were being treated at a local hospital.
'We couldn't understand what was happening. It was so sudden,' he said. 'The area where people had put up tents lies just below a bend in the valley and has no view of the higher ground, which is why the flooding struck without warning and people had no time to run away.'
Kishtwar is a mountainous, sparsely populated district in Jammu and Kashmir, a territory claimed by both India and Pakistan. Its population is mixed, almost evenly, between Muslims and Hindus, which is unusual for the region.
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