(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- Braving intermittent rains, rescuers intensified their search for survivors on Friday in Chisoti, the last motorable village on the route to the Machail Mata temple, after a massive cloudburst struck the area on Thursday afternoon. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah confirmed the death toll at 60, with an unspecified number of people still trapped.

The disaster struck around 12:25 pm, flattening a makeshift market, a langar (community kitchen), a security outpost, 16 houses, government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre span bridge, and over a dozen vehicles. The cloudburst coincided with the annual Machail Mata pilgrimage, which had begun on July 25 and was scheduled to end on September 5.

On Thursday, rescuers pulled out 46 bodies, including two Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel, and 167 injured were rescued. So far, 30 of the deceased have been identified and handed over to their families.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Omar Abdullah and Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Friday, assuring all possible assistance. In a post on X, Modi wrote,“Authorities are working on the ground to assist those affected.”

Rescue operations, suspended late Thursday night due to heavy rain, resumed at first light on Friday. Teams comprising police, Army, NDRF, SDRF personnel, and local volunteers sifted through debris, although chances of finding survivors diminished with every passing hour. Rains briefly resumed around 11:15 am, slowing the effort, but cleared by 7 am, allowing teams to intensify their search.

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Authorities have deployed more than a dozen earth-movers to clear giant boulders, uprooted trees, and downed electricity poles. Additional NDRF teams equipped with special gear joined the operation on Friday. The Army's White Knight Corps, along with 300 Rashtriya Rifles troops and medical detachments, is coordinating with local police and SDRF personnel to rescue the stranded and provide relief.

Officials said two villages ahead of the disaster belt-Machail and Hamori-still have hundreds of people stranded, with mobile networks down and phone batteries exhausted. A control room-cum-help desk has been set up in Padder, 15 km from Chisoti, to coordinate relief and assist pilgrims. The contact numbers provided are 9858223125, 6006701934, 9797504078, 8492886895, 8493801381, and 7006463710.

The Jammu and Kashmir health and medical education department has reinforced critical medical infrastructure. Specialist doctors from PGI-Chandigarh are scheduled to assist at the Government Medical College in Jammu, while district hospitals in Kishtwar have been supplemented with additional surgeons and anaesthetists. A total of 65 ambulances from various agencies have been deployed to facilitate rescue and patient transfer.

Addressing an Independence Day function in Srinagar, CM Omar Abdullah said,“In the coming days, we will have to figure out why this happened. Was there any lapse on the part of the administration, because we already had a weather forecast of heavy rains and flash floods? Could we have taken more steps to save precious lives? We have to make ourselves accountable.”

Videos and eyewitness accounts show torrents of muddy water, rocks, and debris tearing through the steep Himalayan slopes, destroying homes and vehicles in their path. The rescue operation continues as authorities race against time to locate the missing and provide relief to the affected population.

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