New Delhi

When a cloud burst struck village Chashoti in the Paddar district in Kishtwar on August 14,  Arif Rashid, a daily wage driver of 108 Ambulance,  was on duty for the pilgrims of the Machil Mata Yatra, which was going on.

In no time, the tones of water fell from the skies, washing down mountains, trees, houses, and humans.

Arif Rashid first rushed to a safe place and then seeing the helpless people trapped in the maunds of debris struggling to come out, Arif swung into action to save whosoever he could.

He was indeed the first person to launch a rescue of the people trapped in mud and debris after the cloudburst and has ferried 79 injured and rescued people to hospitals and safer places.

His selfless action was observed by an activist, Tahir Peerzada, who asked him to pose for his camera. Interestingly, Arif refused and carried on with his work.

Peerzada has has only a blurred picture of Arif and his identity card that hung in his neck taken from far off to present this unsung hero to the world.

This is Arif Rashid — a daily wage driver of 108 Ambulance who was the first person to jump into the rescue after the cloudburst .. saving his own life before starting the operation! He has ferried 79 injured and dead so far! Stationed at Chashoti, Paddar, for the ongoing Machail… pic.twitter.com/CI3tnyLavO

— Tahir Peerzada (@TahirPeerzada_) August 16, 2025

The Internet is hailing Arif as the real hero of the Chashoti tragedy.

The Kishwar tragedy has resulted in deaths of 60 persons while 69 are still missing. Army, SDRF, and Police launched a massive rescue mission to save people and retrive bodies from under the debris.