Bodies of 32 Kishtwar cloudburst victims yet to be recovered, families await closure

The anguish continues for the families of 32 people, whose bodies have not been recovered as yet from the site of the devastating cloudburst in Kishtwar district on August 14, when a massive crowd was struck by a cloudburst.

Hundreds of people had gathered at Chositi village—the last motorable point for the Machail Mata yatra in the mountainous district—when gushing water came towards them from the adjoining hill sweeping most of them along with it. While rescue teams recovered 66 bodies after days of intensive efforts, 32 victims are yet to be found. Additionally, 137 people were injured in the tragedy.

Officials at the site confirmed that scattered body parts were recovered and sent for DNA profiling as they could not be immediately identified.

Kishtwar Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Sharma said the process to declare the 32 missing persons dead has been initiated. “Relief will be granted to the families only after the issuance of death certificates, for which the process has started,” he added. However, he noted that the results of DNA tests on the recovered remains have not yet been received.

Multiple agencies—including the Army, State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), district administration, and NGOs—conducted extensive search operations. Despite searching as far as the Chenab River, no trace of the missing bodies has been found.

The disaster struck amid severe weather conditions, with the Meteorological Department issuing repeated warnings of heavy rainfall in the region. The Jammu & Kashmir administration faced sharp criticism for not suspending the Machail Mata yatra despite these alerts, which led to the loss of nearly 100 lives.

The cloudburst hit an area where a community meal was underway, with a large number of people—including women and children—present at the site.