J&K cloudburst: Toll in Kishtwar flash flood rises to 60, over 100 injured
The toll from the flash flood triggered by a cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district has reached 60, The New Indian Express reported on Friday.
More than 100 persons were injured and several continue to be missing, the newspaper quoted Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as saying.
“We do not have the exact number of the missing people,” Abdullah reportedly said.
An unidentified official told The New Indian Express that 69 persons have been reported missing so far by their families.
The cloudburst took place on Thursday near Chashoti, which is the last motorable village on the way to the Machail Mata temple, around 12.25 pm.
A large number of devotees had gathered in the area for the annual Machail Mata yatra that began on July 25 and was scheduled to end on September 5.
Bodies of 30 persons who were killed have been identified so far and handed over to their families, reported PTI.
The operation to rescue those stuck under the debris is being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the police, the Army and volunteers.
Speaking at an Independence Day function on Friday, the Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said that in the coming days, “we will have to figure out” why the disaster had occurred.
“Was there any lapse on the part of...
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