A catastrophic cloudburst in Chositi village, Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir, triggered flash floods that claimed at least 60 lives, leaving survivors with stories of miraculous escapes from a deluge of mud, boulders, and debris. The disaster struck on Thursday, engulfing pilgrims en route to the Machail Mata temple and residents in a torrent of destruction.
Nine-year-old Devanshi, buried under mud in a collapsed Maggi-point shop, was rescued by her uncle and villagers after hours trapped beneath wooden planks. “I couldn’t breathe. Mata saved us,” she said, her voice trembling with fear. Sneha, 32, from Jammu, survived being swept away and trapped under a vehicle, surrounded by bodies. “I lost hope of survival,” she recounted, crediting her father’s efforts and swift rescue operations for saving her family.
The cloudburst unleashed chaos, with mud and boulders burying homes, vehicles, and sacred sites, including the Thakur ji idol of Chittoo Mata Temple. Survivors like Sudhir from Udhampur described a deafening blast followed by fog and dust, with his wife and daughter trapped in slush. Sunita Devi from Nanak Nagar, injured by an electric pole, spoke of searching for her son amid the chaos, attributing their survival to divine intervention.
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Vaishali Sharma, part of a 15-member group, narrowly escaped when a shop they sought shelter in collapsed under debris. “The Army rescued me and five others, but I don’t know where my parents are,” she said. Uma from Jammu, saved by a policeman while clinging to a vehicle tyre, grieves for her missing sister, Gahna Raina.
Rescue operations, involving the Army, CRPF, police, SDRF, CISF, and local volunteers, worked tirelessly into the night. Additional Superintendent of Police Pradeep Singh praised the collective effort, noting the critical role of over 20 local bikers led by Ganga Ram, who transported the injured to Hamori after roads were cut off. “Without them, more lives would have been lost,” he said.
The scale of trauma was immense, with survivors suffering shattered ribs, mud-filled lungs, and deep wounds. “This has been a battle against death,” a rescue worker remarked. The swift response of authorities and locals mitigated a higher death toll, but the tragedy has left Chositi grappling with grief and loss.
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