At least 60 people are confirmed dead and dozens more are missing after a powerful flash flood struck Chisoti village in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Kishtwar district on Thursday. Officials say a “cloudburst” unleashed torrents of water and mud, sweeping away homes and a makeshift kitchen sheltering more than 100 unregistered Hindu pilgrims on their way to the Machail Mata shrine.
Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah called the situation “grim,” while rescue operations — hampered by damaged roads and persistent heavy rain — continue with army support. Mohammad Irshad, a senior disaster management official, said 56 bodies had been recovered before nightfall, with 80 people still unaccounted for. Around 300 people have been rescued, 50 of them in critical condition.
The disaster, India’s second major flooding tragedy this month, follows the August 5 catastrophe in Uttarakhand’s Dharali, where over 70 are feared dead. Authorities have warned of more heavy rain and possible flooding in the region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged “every possible assistance” to victims, as experts again link the growing frequency and severity of such monsoon disasters to climate change and poorly planned development. The UN’s World Meteorological Organisation has warned that extreme floods and droughts are a “distress signal” of an increasingly unstable global water cycle.