33 dead, scores missing after sudden rainstorm in Indian Kashmir

Last Updated on August 15, 2025 10:29 pm

By Zahidul hasan

At least 33 people were feared dead and more missing following sudden, heavy rain in Indian Kashmir, an official said on Thursday.
The disaster occurred in Chasoti town of Kishtwar district, a stopover point on a popular pilgrimage route. It comes a little over a week after a heavy flood and mudslide engulfed an entire village in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

The flood washed away a community kitchen and a security post set up in the village, said the official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media about the incident.

“A large number of pilgrims had gathered for lunch and they were washed away. Scores of people as of now are missing,” the official said.

“The news is grim and accurate, verified information from the area hit by the cloudburst is slow in arriving,” Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of India’s federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir, said in a post on X.

Buildings damaged in flash floods in the Chasoti town of Kishtwar district, a stopover point on a popular pilgrimage route. Photo: AP
Buildings damaged in flash floods in the Chasoti town of Kishtwar district, a stopover point on a popular pilgrimage route. Photo: AP
Television footage showed pilgrims crying in fear as water flooded the village.