After intense rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir, bodies of a woman in Kishtwar and an eight-year-old girl in Poonch were recovered, while search is underway for missing persons in Rajouri. With the latest recovery, the cloudburst death toll has risen past 63. Joint teams of Army, NDRF, SDRF, CISF and police continue large-scale rescue operation
Search and rescue operation underway at cloudburst-hit Chisoti village, in Kishtwar district, Jammu and Kashmir. Pic/PTI
After intense spells of rain in Jammu and Kashmir, the body of a woman was recovered in the cloudburst-hit Kishtwar district. A few hours later, authorities also recovered the body of an eight-year-old girl, who was washed away in flash floods in Poonch district on Tuesday.
As reported by news agency PTI, the search operation is underway for a 20-year-old youth missing in floodwaters in the Rajouri district, officials said.
While addressing the situation, the officials said that the Jammu and Kashmir death toll has crossed the 60 mark. However, rescue and relief operations are being conducted in full swing.
While highlighting the incident, the officials stated that “the decomposed body was sighted downstream and subsequently recovered by the rescuers this morning amid an intensified search operation with the improvement in the weather,” as cited by news agency PTI.
In another operation, sniffer dogs also helped recover a lower body part of another victim under the debris of a collapsed house, but officials said it is believed to be that of a person whose body was recovered on the first day of the tragedy.
The rescue teams in the valley during these tough times are working at multiple locations, especially the major impact spot near a langar (community kitchen) site, sifting through the rubble using heavy machinery, including earth movers and sniffer dogs.
With the recovery of one more body, the death toll in the flash floods triggered by the cloudburst in Chisoti, the last motorable village en route to the Machail Mata temple, on August 14, has risen to more than 63.
As reported by the news agency, three CISF personnel and one Special Police Officer (SPO) of J-K Police have also lost their lives during the operations.
Officials also asserted that “a total of 167 persons were rescued, while the number of missing persons has dropped to 39 after a fresh revision of the list on Monday,” cited by news agency PTI.
To ensure that the situation stays under control and to assure people’s safety, the Deputy Superintendent of Police, SDRF, Masoof Ahmad Mirza, said, “The rescue and relief operation is going on at war footing, and a team is being dispatched downstream to check the area.” The rescue operation restarted this morning with the recovery of one more body. The impact area of the cloudburst is vast, and so it is taking time. We have cleared a large area upstream, and now we are sending a team downstream as well,” as cited by news agency PTI.
On the other hand, the Indian Army's Jammu-based White Knight Corps on Monday posted on X stating that five relief columns of the force are engaged in the rescue and relief operations, and efforts have been further intensified with additional medical teams deployed.
#WhiteKnightCorps | #HADR
— White Knight Corps (@Whiteknight_IA) August 18, 2025
Update on Relief Operations: 18 Aug 25#ChisotiVillage #Kishtwar
Five Relief Columns of #WhiteKnightCorps are engaged in rescue & relief operations at Chisoti. Efforts have been further intensified with additional medical teams deployed.
Despite… pic.twitter.com/MD93vuIz0L
The joint teams of police, army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), CISF, Border Roads Organisation (BRO), civil administration, and local volunteers are engaged in the rescue efforts.
(With inputs from PTI)
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