SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir

The death toll from the massive cloudburst in the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir climbed to 46, with over 100 people injured and hundreds missing on Thursday, according to local broadcaster NDTV.

The cloudburst struck the Chositi village near Machail Mata Shrine in the Padder Tashoti area of the Kishtwar district, on a Hindu pilgrimage route, triggering flash floods that swept a langar -- a community kitchen.

At least 46 bodies have been recovered, with concerns that the death toll may increase as many remain missing.

Rescue teams have rescued 167 individuals from beneath the debris, officials said, noting that the condition of 38 of them remains critical.

Anadolu could not independently verify the number of casualties.

Casualties may rise as the search for the missing continues. The Indian military has also been deployed to help in the search.

The injured people have been shifted to local hospitals.

“The death toll is likely to rise as rescue efforts are still ongoing and disaster teams are trying to save lives,” Sunil Kumar Sharma, a lawmaker who is overseeing the rescue efforts, told Anadolu over the phone.

More than 120 people have also been injured, many of whom were Hindu pilgrims.

Reports said more than 1,000 people were at the site when the cloudburst hit the village, from where Hindu pilgrims would walk to their shrine.

Top district official Pankaj Kumar Sharma told Anadolu that the casualties could rise.

India's Minister of Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh said he feared the incident "could result in substantial casualties."

“The news (of cloudburst) is grim and accurate, verified information from the area hit by the cloud burst is slow in arriving,” Jammu and Kashmir's top elected official Omar Abdullah said on US social media company X.

“All possible resources are being mobilized from within and beyond Jammu and Kashmir to manage the rescue operations,” Omar added, noting that the government will share information when available.