3 more bodies found
Jammu, Aug. 20 -- With the recovery of three more bodies from the debris on Tuesday, the death toll in cloudburst-hit Chishoti village has mounted to 64, said officials.
"On Tuesday, the rescuers recovered three more bodies and two body parts (arm and leg) from the debris. With this the toll has gone up to 64," said Kishtwar district commissioner Pankaj Sharma. He said the bodies and limbs were sent to GMC Kishtwar for DNA profiling.
"We had no clear picture about missing and dead but as the days proceeded, the kin of missing pilgrims came forward and shared the information at the command and control centre set up by the administration. Initially, 137 people were reported missing, out of whom 62 were rescued alive," he said.
"Big boulders are being blasted with controlled explosions so as to search the debris beneath them," he said. As the rescuers recovered more bodies, the missing count has now come down to 39, he added.
A police officer said three bodies recovered today were decomposed. The rescuers conducted over half a dozen controlled explosions in the past three days to blow up giant boulders, which had been hampering the search. Sniffer dogs also helped recover a body part of one of the victim but the officials believed it be that of a body which was found on Day 1. The rescue teams are working at multiple locations, especially the major impact spot near a langar site, sifting through the rubble using heavy machinery, including JCBs and sniffer dogs. The joint teams of police, army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), CISF, BRO, civil administration, and local volunteers are engaged in the rescue efforts.
The annual Machail Mata yatra, which began on July 25 and was scheduled to conclude on September 5, remained suspended for the sixth consecutive day on Tuesday. However, the authorities will allow a group of devotees carrying "Charri" from Jammu and is expected to reach the shrine on August 21 or 22.
The body of an eight-year-old girl, who was washed away in flashfloods, was recovered in Poonch district on Tuesday, said officials. However, a 20-year-old youth remains missing in adjoining Rajouri district.
Following flashfloods in Rajouri and Poonch districts on Monday, massive operations were launched by the SDRF, police, and locals to trace the minor girl and the man washed away in the Suran river and Mubarakhpura nallah in Poonch and Rajouri districts since Monday, they said. "Body of the girl, who was swept away by strong currents near Umrah Ban Dhok on Monday, was recovered from the Suran river in Shindra area of the district," an official said.The rescue operation in Dassal Karrain to trace 20-year-old youth Atif Shah, who was swept away by strong currents while crossing a river in Mubarakhpura village of Rajouri district, is facing difficulties as the river is still experiencing flash floods, they added....
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