SRINAGAR: A day after a devastating cloudburst struck the remote Chositi village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, killing 60 persons and injuring over 100 others, a massive rescue operation is underway to save dozens feared trapped beneath debris and mud.Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said 60 people have so far died in the cloudburst.He said over 100 have been injured and many others are still missing. “We don’t have the exact number of the missing people,” the CM said.An official said the injured persons have been evacuated to different hospitals for specialised treatment.The condition of 35 injured is stated to be critical. The official said the death toll is likely to go up.“As of now, 69 persons are missing as their family members have approached the administration and informed about the missing of their wards,” the official said.The official said a rescue operation by SDRF, police, civil administration personnel and NDRF teams is going on.The local volunteers and residents are also assisting in the rescue operation.A massive cloudburst struck Chositi, the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata temple in Kishtwar district, at around noon yesterday. The cloudburst triggered a flash flood and mudslide in Chositi village, which was abuzz with activities as people in large numbers have been visiting the area since the start of the Machail Mata Yatra on July 25. The pilgrims have to travel 8.5 km from the road to the 9,500-feet-high temple from Chositi village. The temple lies two villages ahead, and the devotees have to pass through Chositi.A volunteer said nobody knows the exact number of missing people as a large number of people were present at the site when the cloudburst hit the village, triggering the flash flood and mudslide.“There was a parking lot and langar (community kitchen) in the area. Besides, there was a paramilitary camp in the area. Locals had also set up shops in view of the yatra,” DDC chairperson Kishtwar Pooja Thakur told this newspaper.
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