At least 46 people have died and over 200 remain unaccounted for after sudden, heavy rainfall hit Indian Kashmir, officials reported on Thursday.
This marks the second major disaster in the Himalayas in just over a week.
The tragedy struck Chasoti town in Kishtwar district, a key stop along a popular pilgrimage route.
It follows closely on the heels of severe flooding and mudslides that devastated a village in Uttarakhand.
The floodwaters swept away a community kitchen and a security post in the village, which serves as a rest point on the pilgrimage path to the Machail Mata temple, said an official who requested anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
“A large number of pilgrims had gathered for lunch and they were washed away,” the official said.
The Machail yatra attracts devotees to the high-altitude Himalayan shrine of Machail Mata, one of the forms of Goddess Durga. Pilgrims usually trek to the temple from Chasoti, where the motorable road ends.
“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, wrote on X.
Television footage captured pilgrims in terror as the village was engulfed by rising waters.
The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. local time, according to Ramesh Kumar, divisional commissioner of Kishtwar district, who told news agency ANI that local police and disaster response teams were already on site.
“Army, air force teams have also been activated. Search and rescue operations are underway,” Kumar added.
A cloudburst, as defined by the Indian Meteorological Department, is an extremely heavy rainfall of over 100 mm (4 inches) in just one hour. It can cause sudden floods, landslides, and widespread destruction, particularly in mountainous regions during the monsoon.
Meanwhile, the Srinagar weather office warned of heavy showers in several parts of Kashmir on Thursday, including Kishtwar. Residents were advised to avoid weak structures, electric poles, and old trees due to the risk of mudslides and flash floods.