A comprehensive and coordinated search and rescue operation continued on Thursday to trace the 33 persons missing in the cloudburst-hit Kishtwar, as the search operation entered its eighth day, officials said.
The death toll has risen to 65 since the tragedy struck Chositi village en route to the Machail Mata temple on August 14.
Since then, rescue teams, including the Army, NDRF, SDRF, police, and local volunteers have rescued 167 people while around 100 others sustained injuries, of whom 75 were admitted to the GMC Kishtwar.
A senior official overseeing the rescue and relief operations said, “The search operation by multiple agencies has been intensified to trace the 33 missing persons. Separate teams are carrying out operations at the worst-affected sites.”
The coordinated search is focused on three main locations at the disaster site, the Langar, Bhuat Nallah, and Paddr areas. The authorities are using heavy-duty vehicles to ensure swift evacuation and provide relief in the affected areas.
Senior IAS and IPS officers, deputed on the directions of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, are supervising operations on the ground.
The flash floods triggered by the cloudburst left a trail of destruction, flattening a makeshift market and a langar site for the annual Machail Mata Yatra, damaging 16 houses and government buildings, three temples, four water mills, and a 30-metre-long bridge, besides over a dozen vehicles.
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