38 Dead, Over 200 Missing as Massive Cloudburst Devastates Kishtwar's Chosoti

At least 38 people, most of them pilgrims, have been killed and over 200 others are feared missing after a massive cloudburst struck Chosoti village—the last motorable point on the Machail Mata Yatra route—in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district on Thursday afternoon.

- AJAY JANDYAL

The disaster hit between 12 and 1 pm when hundreds of devotees had gathered for the annual pilgrimage to the 9,500-ft-high Hindu shrine of Machail Mata.

The cloudburst triggered flash floods and landslides, sweeping away houses, temporary shelters, and a 'langar' (community kitchen) set up for devotees. The final 8.5-km trek to the shrine begins from Chosoti, which now lies buried under debris, boulders, and slush.