Srinagar, Aug 29: Three days after the devastating cloudburst-triggered landslide near Ardhkuwari on the Katra–Vaishno Devi track claimed 34 lives, authorities on Wednesday confirmed that all the deceased have been identified and their bodies dispatched to their respective states.
On Friday, family members of 18 victims reached Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu to claim the bodies, following mandatory post-mortem and verification.
Deputy Superintendent of GMC Jammu, Dr Bharat Bhushan, told Rising Kashmir that all 34 bodies received from Katra had been identified with due diligence. “Out of the 34, 18 were identified and dispatched to their respective places on Friday after verification through post-mortem. The remaining bodies were also handed over subsequently after confirmation,” he said.
DrBhushan added that the identification process was carried out with utmost care, involving forensic experts, police officials, and district administration to avoid any error.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) GMC Jammu, DrAishwarya, said the majority of victims were pilgrims from northern Indian states, including Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. A few of the deceased also belonged to single families who had come for the yatra to Katra.
“Special counters were set up at GMC Jammu to facilitate the relatives, provide transportation support, and ensure smooth documentation for handing over the bodies,” the CMO said, adding that free ambulances were also arranged in coordination with the district administration for transporting the remains.
A senior police officer, overseeing the process, said DNA sampling was kept as a backup in case of doubtful identification, but fortunately, all 34 bodies were identified without needing DNA confirmation.
