J-K cloudburst: Search operations enter ninth day, one missing man returns home

Chisoti (JK), Aug 22 (PTI) Search operation by multiple agencies to trace people who went missing during the recent cloudburst and flashfloods in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district entered the ninth day on Friday.

Meanwhile, the family of one person who was earlier listed missing reported that he has returned home safely, officials said.

No fresh bodies were found during the operation.

Sixty five people, including three CISF personnel and one Special Police Officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, have died in the natural calamity that struck Chisoti, the last motorable village en route to Machail Mata temple, on August 14. Over 100 people were injured.

"The search operation continued for the ninth day on Friday, but no one was found during the efforts by multiple agencies," a senior officer told PTI.

He added that the number of missing people came down to 32 after one person from the missing list reached home. The family confirmed his return on Friday.

In line with the roster issued under the directions of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Principal Secretary Anil Kumar Singh conducted an on-ground review of the ongoing rescue and relief operations in Chisoti.

Accompanied by Inspector General of Police (Traffic) Suleman Choudhary, Singh carried out a detailed assessment of the situation, interacted with the affected residents, and reviewed the response of rescue teams and the district administration.

He also reviewed the status of road from Atholi to Pallali and Pallali to Machail, and issued necessary directions to authorities. Singh further assessed the pressing needs of displaced families and directed to facilitate prompt relief distribution.

Search teams have focused operations at three key locations: the major impact spot near a langar (community kitchen), the area where several houses were washed away, and Bhuat Nallah in the Gulabgarh-Paddar belt.

Of the total 136 persons initially reported missing, 67 were rescued alive or injured, while 37 bodies have been recovered so far, officials said.

Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Sharma, who is supervising the large-scale rescue and relief operation, said efforts to trace the remaining 32 missing people are continuing.

Sharma, who had reached the spot within hours of the cloudburst, said the search operation in the last nine days included teams from NDRF, SDRF, Army, CRPF, CISF, Police, GREF, civil administration, locals, and NGOs.

Apart from manpower, 30 machines including JCBs, dumpers, rock cutters and excavators, along with 135 vehicles and sniffer dogs, have been deployed, he said. Heavy vehicles, including monster trucks, have been pressed into service to assist in evacuation and relief operations, officials added.

Flashfloods triggered by the cloudburst left behind massive destruction — flattening a makeshift market and a langar site for the annual Machail Mata yatra, damaging 16 houses, several government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre bridge, and over a dozen vehicles.

Army engineers on Sunday constructed a Bailey bridge over Chisoti Nallah, restoring vital connectivity to the village and the Machail Mata shrine. The Army has also inducted all-terrain vehicles to intensify relief efforts.

Rescuers carried out over half a dozen controlled explosions to clear giant boulders blocking search operations.

The annual Machail Mata yatra, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to conclude on September 5, remains suspended for the seventh consecutive day as of Wednesday.

However, authorities said a group of devotees carrying the holy 'Charri' from Jammu will be allowed to proceed, and it is expected to reach the shrine on August 21 or 22. The 8.5-kilometre trek to the 9,500-foot-high shrine begins from Chisoti, located about 90 kilometres from Kishtwar town. PTI AB RUK RUK