Overview

• Officials said two more bodies were recovered on August 19, taking the death toll to 65, with 167 people rescued and 39 still listed as missing after a revised count.
• Rescue efforts involve the Army, NDRF, SDRF, CISF, J&K Police, BRO and local volunteers, with White Knight Corps fielding five relief columns and additional medical teams as roughly 450 personnel work round the clock.
• Search teams expanded operations over a 22 km stretch from Chashoti to Gulabgarh using earthmovers, sniffer dogs and controlled blasts to break boulders, while remains recovered are being sent for DNA testing.
• The flash floods destroyed the makeshift market and community kitchen tied to the Machail Mata yatra and damaged homes, temples, a bridge and vehicles, as Army engineers built a Bailey bridge to restore access and deployed all‑terrain vehicles.
• Local first responders—including an ambulance driver who ferried more than 60 survivors and volunteer ‘Chisoti bikers’—saved many in the first hours, while the yatra stays suspended and authorities plan to allow the Charri to proceed to the shrine on August 21 or 22.