Ababeel Leads Transfer of Cloudburst Victim’s Bodies From Atholi to Assar as Toll Set to Rise

SRINAGAR: The bodies of dozens of victims from the devastating cloudburst in Kishtwar’s Chashoti village are being moved from the remote Atholi Sub-District Hospital to Assar in Doda district, with local NGO Ababeel spearheading the grim operation. Seven ambulances and around 30 volunteers of the organisation have been pressed into service for the transfers.

A spokesman for Ababeel, which has been working in the Chenab Valley for years, said the chaos at the disaster site was making it impossible to establish an exact death count. “We are unable to count right now. So far, the recoveries are between 40 and 50, but the toll will definitely go up,” he said, describing scenes of afra-tafri as families awaited news of missing relatives. “All the dead bodies are being shifted to Assar before onward transportation to their native places.”

He said quite a few residents of the village were killed and they have been identified as well. “Most of the victims are from Doda, Udhampur, Jammu, Samba and other areas of Jammu,” he said, asserting that the families are registering the names of their members who were on the Machial pilgrimage.

The cloudburst struck late Thursday morning, unleashing what locals described as “lakhon cusecs” of water down the Chashoti nallah, a 100-foot-deep gorge that swelled into a roaring torrent. The force of the flood created a ditch more than 100 metres wide, sweeping away a footbridge, six to seven houses, makeshift kitchens, and a transit camp for Machail Mata pilgrims. The tragedy occurred between 11.30 am and noon, the time when many pilgrims halt for lunch before continuing towards the temple.

Among the dead is Farooq Ahmad, a Gujjar from Bevli in Doda. Four victims from Chashoti village have been identified, while others are believed to be from Udhampur, Jammu, and surrounding areas. Two CISF personnel are also among the casualties.

Former minister and JKNC leader Sajad Ahmad Kichloo, who visited the Kishtwar hospital said 30 bodies had initially been kept at Atholi hospital, while 40 of the injured were shifted to the district hospital in Jammu. He said over 200 people are still missing. “The real rescue operation is yet to start because the site is so interior,” he said, adding that SDRF teams, the Army, and other agencies were on the ground but hampered by terrain and weather.

According to officials, 75 people are currently admitted with injuries in Atholi. Many of the injured have been shifted to Jammu. Some of the seriously injured died in hospital despite emergency care.

The Machail Mata pilgrimage, which draws thousands from across Jammu division, passes directly through Chashoti. The village is the last point where vehicles can be parked before pilgrims continue on foot towards the shrine at 2,800 metres. Locals said while small cloudbursts have struck the route in the past, nothing of this magnitude had ever been recorded.

The administration has set up emergency helplines for affected families and ordered an intensified rescue push once weather improves. An Army helicopter flying from Kishtwar to the disaster site was forced to turn back because of heavy rain in Jammu.

Rescuers fear the final toll could be much higher once debris is cleared from the deep ravines and the remaining missing persons are accounted for. “Nobody knew anything until it hit,” said one local. “In seconds, the nallah became a wall of death.”