New Delhi: Flash floods in Indian-administered Kashmir have killed at least 60 people and left dozens more missing in a community that was housing Hindu pilgrims.
Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, stated during an Independence Day event in the capital city of Srinagar that over 100 persons had been hurt.
Chositi village in Kishtwar district, a secluded settlement on a popular pilgrimage path to a Himalayan shrine, saw water rushing down a hill on Thursday along with trash and dirt.
Officials are working harder to extract people from the mud and debris as rescue attempts continue.
While India’s meteorological service has not officially confirmed it, officials think the flooding was most likely caused by a cloudburst.
The pilgrims came there to see Machail Mata, a manifestation of Goddess Durga, at her shrine. Since Chositi is the last location that cars can reach, pilgrims frequently stop there before beginning the arduous trek back to their homes or starting uphill.
At the Kishtwar district hospital, numerous survivors are receiving medical attention for their wounds.
Putul Devi is one of them; she sits quietly on a metal hospital bed with a family member at her side, her face expressionless.
“Our family had come for the pilgrimage. We had completed the darshan [visit] – and then, suddenly there was a blast-like sound and what followed was complete chaos,” she told news agency ANI.
“We could not understand anything. Everyone just started running.”
Ms Devi was travelling with 13 members of her family. So far, she has been reunited with only two. The rest, including her husband and three children, are missing.
There is only one earth mover (also known as a JCB) at the scene, according to a senior National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officer who spoke to news agency ANI.
“We remove the victims buried above as the JCB excavates. After that, we’ll look for people who are buried below. At least 100 to 200 individuals might still be trapped, we were informed,” he told ANI.
Back at the hospital, Sanjay Kumar explains that when the floods occurred, he was assisting with lunch service at a communal kitchen. There were between 200 and 250 individuals eating inside the premises, he claimed.
“I was distributing rotis when I heard a loud noise,” he said.
“The drain next to the kitchen started filling up with muck right away. I ordered everyone to flee. We didn’t even have a minute.”
Mr. Kumar claimed that he was once buried behind rubble. He clung firmly to his son, who was nearby.
They were soon dragged out by the police and soldiers sent to guard the temple.
“Thankfully, almost everyone there was saved,” he stated.
A sobbing dad in a different hospital room was holding a phone with a picture of his daughter on it.
“We didn’t anticipate this kind of incident. With tears in his eyes, he remarked, “The sky was clear, even shining for a few seconds, and then everything fell apart in a minute.”
“All I want is my daughter.” Find my daughter, please. Nothing else is what I want.”
Flash floods have occurred in a number of places in northern India as a result of extremely heavy rains in recent days.
Nearly half of the Uttarakhand village of Dharali was submerged by a major flood that struck last week.
Officials reported on Tuesday that only one death had been discovered and that 66 individuals were still unaccounted for.
