The death toll due to a cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district rose to 61, as rescuers continued operations for the fourth day on Sunday, effecting three more blasts to blow up boulders around a major impact spot, officials said.
Army engineers have started working on setting up a bailey bridge to restore connectivity to Chisoti village and the Machail Mata shrine, and further intensify the rescue efforts.
With the recovery of another body from the debris, officials on Sunday said the death toll had risen to 61.
The cloudburst struck Chisoti, the last motorable village en route the Machail Mata temple, on August 14, leaving over 100 injured, other than the fatalities.
The number of missing persons has come down to 50, while the bodies of three persons still remain unidentified.
The flash floods triggered by the cloudburst left a trail of destruction, flattening a makeshift market, a langar (community kitchen) site for the Machail Mata Yatra, damaging 16 houses and government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre-long bridge, and more than a dozen vehicles.
The rescuers conducted three more controlled explosions within a span of 45 minutes to blow up giant boulders hampering the search operation, especially near the worst-hit langar site, officials said.
Despite overcast conditions, the joint teams of the police, Indian Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), civil administration, and local volunteers are continuing the rescue efforts.
The work on the bailey bridge is ongoing at full speed and was only halted when the rescuers undertook controlled explosions to detonate the huge boulders, the officials said.
General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the Army’s counter-insurgency Delta Force, Major General A.P.S. Bal, said Army engineers conducted a survey of the area after the need for a bridge was felt.
“We need a 17-metre bridge, which will be installed to facilitate smooth movement across the river,” the officer said, adding that the structure would be completed by Sunday evening.
“We are here because of the people. As you know, our country’s policy nowadays is a whole of nation approach. So, if there is any security issue, not just physical security but all kinds of security, the whole of nation approach has to be followed,” the GOC said.