J&K: The serene pilgrimage route to the Machail Mata temple turned into a scene of horror on Thursday as a sudden flash flood swept through Chashoti village in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district, killing and injuring scores and leaving many still missing.
It was around noon when a deafening roar shattered the hum of bhajans at a community kitchen, where hundreds of devotees had gathered for meals during the annual yatra. Within moments, chaos erupted. A steel footbridge packed with pilgrims gave way, the kitchen collapsed, and a torrent of water, boulders, and debris engulfed the area.
“It happened in seconds, and everyone disappeared. Screams were everywhere. People were buried under debris; death was instantly vivid,” recounted a policeman at the scene.
Rescuers said the community kitchen—once the heart of the gathering—was reduced to rubble, with sacks of rice and pulses lying trampled as security forces worked frantically to pull survivors out. Many of those crossing the footbridge were swept away by the raging Chenab River, forcing officials to install nets downstream in a bid to recover bodies.
One survivor, a food stall worker, said luck alone saved him. “I stepped out for water for just 15 seconds, and it all changed. Seven bodies were recovered from my shop. I would have been the eighth.”
The destruction was staggering. Ten homes, six government buildings, three temples, four water mills, two cattle sheds, and a 30-metre bridge were washed away or badly damaged. Over a dozen vehicles lay mangled or vanished entirely.
By the riverbank, families cremated loved ones amid wails and the relentless roar of the Chenab. “We received the headless body of a woman. People are still coming to register missing family members,” said an official grimly.
The rescue operation is daunting. Narrow approach roads, unstable weather, and massive debris piles are slowing efforts by the NDRF, Army, paramilitary forces, and local volunteers. Helicopters have been unable to reach the site due to poor visibility.
Authorities built a makeshift log bridge to evacuate stranded pilgrims from the other side of the stream. Local leaders fear the toll could be far higher, with “several hundred still missing or untraceable.”
What was once a bustling pilgrimage stop is now unrecognisable — a parking lot buried under rock and pine trees, the air heavy with smoke from funeral pyres, and the sound of a river that will not quieten.
