Dozens killed or missing in Kashmir flash flood

More than 60 people have been killed and dozens are missing after torrents of water and mud driven by intense rain swamped a village in Indian-administered Kashmir on Thursday, a senior disaster management official told AFP.

It is the second major deadly flooding disaster in India this month.

“The news is grim,” Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said in a statement, reporting a “cloudburst” of heavy rain that had hit the Kishtwar district.

Crowds gathered at a Kishtwar hospital, while some of the injured were carried on stretchers.

Mohammad Irshad, a senior disaster management official, told AFP “56 dead bodies were recovered” from the site before rescue efforts were halted for the night.

Mr Irshad said 80 people were reported missing and 300 people were rescued, “50 of whom are severely injured” and were sent to hospitals.

Local officials said the death from the flood that damaged or washed away many homes was likely to rise.

Sushil Kumar, a resident of nearby Atholi village, told AFP: “I saw at least 15 dead bodies brought to the local hospital.”

Pankaj Kumar Sharma, district commissioner of Kishtwar, said earlier that “there are chances of more dead bodies being found”.

Chisoti village, where the disaster hit, is on a Hindu pilgrimage route to Machail Mata shrine.

Officials said a large makeshift kitchen where there were more than 100 pilgrims – who were not registered with local authorities – was washed away.

Rescue teams were facing difficulty reaching the area and soldiers also joined the effort.

The region's weather department has issued an alert for more heavy rain and floods, asking residents to remain vigilant.

Roads had already been damaged by days of heavy storms. The area lies more than 200 kilometres by road from Srinigar, the region's main city.

“Every possible assistance will be provided to those in need,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Floods on August 5 overwhelmed the Himalayan town of Dharali in India's Uttarakhand state and buried it in mud. The likely death toll from that disaster is more than 70 but has yet to be confirmed.

Floods and landslides are common during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts say climate change, coupled with poorly planned development, is increasing their frequency and severity.

The UN's World Meteorological Organisation said last year that increasingly intense floods and droughts are a “distress signal” of what is to come as climate change makes the planet's water cycle ever more unpredictable.