Chositi (J-K:Nine-year-old Devanshi was among hundreds of pilgrims on the final stretch of the Machail Mata Yatra when disaster struck on Thursday. Buried under mud and debris after a Maggi-point shop was engulfed by flash floods, she was pulled out hours later by her uncle and villagers.
“I couldn’t breathe. My uncle and others removed wooden planks and pulled us out. Mata saved us,” she said, still shaken.
Like her, 32-year-old Sneha remains in disbelief. Just after loading luggage into their vehicle, she and her family were swept away by a torrent of mud, rocks, and water, buried under debris and even a vehicle. “I was trapped, surrounded by bodies — children with broken necks and severed limbs. I lost hope,” she recalled.
At least 60 people were killed after a massive cloudburst unleashed flash floods in this remote Kishtwar village. Survivors speak of escaping death by seconds.
“We thought the Maggi shop was safe,” Devanshi recounted, “but within minutes, mud buried it.”
Sneha described seeing an avalanche of mud and boulders sweep people toward the Chenab River. Her father freed himself first, then pulled her and her injured mother out. “Bodies were everywhere. Even the idol of Thakur ji from Chittoo Mata Temple was washed away,” she said. She credited swift action by locals, the Army, police, and CRPF with saving many lives.
The cloudburst transformed Chositi into a scene of devastation within seconds — homes flattened, vehicles overturned, and bodies buried in the sludge. Search and rescue teams worked through the night to save those trapped.
Sudhir from Udhampur said the disaster felt like “the sky and earth collapsing together.” His wife and daughter were buried under others in the slush. “I saw dozens swept into the Chenab. It took seconds for the hill to bury everything.”
Injuries were severe — mud-filled lungs, broken ribs, deep wounds packed with stones. Sunita Devi from Nanak Nagar recalled being struck by an electric pole while searching desperately for her son. Uma from Jammu clung to a tyre until a policeman rescued her, but her sister remains missing. Vaishali Sharma, trapped under boulders after a shop caved in, still does not know where her parents are.
Rescuers from multiple agencies and villagers worked side by side. Over 20 bikers, led by Ganga Ram, ferried the injured to Hamori after the road was cut off. “Without them, more lives would have been lost,” said ASP Pradeep Singh.
