REUTERS, Srinagar

At least 38 people died and more than 200 were missing following sudden, heavy rain in Indian Kashmir, officials said yesterday, the second such disaster in the Himalayas in a little over a week.

The incident 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, a pit stop along the pilgrimage route to the Machail Mata temple, one of the officials, 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,” the official said, and offered “condolences to the bereaved families”.

Jitendra Singh, from PM’s office, said the reported cloudburst could result in “substantial” casualties.