Heroic Rescue in Kishtwar: SDRF’s Shahnawaz saves 13-month-old amid devastating floods

A long beard, a navy-blue cap, a megaphone, and a child on his lap — that’s how the world came to know Shahnawaz, an SDRF member from Doda, J&K. His photograph, showing him cradling a 13-month-old girl rescued alive from the rubble in Chasoti village, Kishtwar district, has gone viral.

Calls and messages flooded in, with strangers asking to adopt the baby. “Her parents have been found. She is with them now, but people don’t believe me,” Shahnawaz said on Sunday. The calls kept coming.

Flash floods triggered by a cloudburst on August 14 tore through Chasoti’s hillside stream. Rajai Nalla surged violently, sweeping away boulders, trees, and homes. A bridge collapsed, and people crossing it were carried away. Pilgrims at campsites and langars for the Machail Mata Yatra disappeared within seconds. The disaster claimed at least 61 lives, injured 116, and left around 70 missing.


Rescue teams worked with excavators while relatives stood along the muddy banks, eyes locked on rescuers in orange vests. Desperation pushed them dangerously close to the torrent until Shahnawaz’s voice cut through: “Step back.”

“Everyone is desperate. You cannot stop them from rushing to the spot when they hear that a body has been found,” he said, his voice growing hoarse, as he ran up and down the stream with his megaphone.

On the evening of August 14, while clearing debris from a damaged home, he noticed a faint movement — a tiny arm beneath the rubble. He pulled out the child, cleaned her, and wrapped her in a blanket. Then he helped free a woman trapped nearby — the girl’s mother, a healthcare worker — alive. “When the child began to cry, I was happy,” he said.

Later, when phone networks were restored, Shahnawaz’s photo spread widely online. “I felt proud that people recognised our work. We gave our 100%. Saving lives brought us happiness.”

The girl was reunited with her father, who had been desperately searching for her.

Shahnawaz kept working tirelessly. On Independence Day, he revived another girl using CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Since joining SDRF in 2019, he had witnessed Kishtwar’s worst, including bodies recovered from Chenab’s icy currents after road accidents.

[With TOI inputs]