Jammu: The Jammu and Kashmir Health and Medical Education Department has strengthened critical health infrastructure to provide optimal care after a massive cloudburst struck a remote mountain village in Kishtwar district, claiming several lives.
A health department official on Friday said a team of specialist doctors from PGIMER Chandigarh is en route to Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu, to support medical treatment and bolster critical care facilities.
The disaster hit Chositi, the last motorable village on the way to Machail Mata temple, around 12:25 pm on Thursday, leaving 46 people dead, including two CISF personnel. So far, 167 injured individuals have been rescued, while 69 are reported missing. Many more are believed to be trapped under debris after the flash flood destroyed a makeshift market, a community kitchen for the Machail Mata pilgrimage, and a security outpost.
At least 16 houses and government buildings, three temples, four water mills, a 30-metre bridge, and over a dozen vehicles were also damaged, officials said.
To strengthen emergency response, the sub-district hospital near the cloudburst site has received additional resources, including 13 doctors and 31 paramedics. Senior department officers are stationed in Padder to oversee rescue and medical operations, while Kishtwar district hospital has been augmented with general and orthopaedic surgeons and anaesthetists from GMC Doda.
Tertiary care institutions have been placed on full alert. A specialist team at GMC Doda is ready to manage patients referred from Kishtwar. GMC Jammu is fully prepared with 50 disaster beds, 20 ventilator beds, and five operating theatres. Specialist medical teams—including orthopaedicians, neurosurgeons, critical care anaesthetists, and maxillofacial consultants—are on standby, and the GMC-Jammu blood bank has stocked over 200 units for emergencies.
To further support critical care, PGIMER Chandigarh has dispatched a specialised team of critical care specialists and neurosurgeons to GMC Jammu. Immediately after the cloudburst, 65 ambulances from the Health Department, NHPC, Army, CRPF, and the 108 Emergency Service were deployed for rescue operations and patient transfers.
