Amarnath yatra temporary suspended; death toll rises to 16 after cloudburst
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New Delhi: A flash flood was triggered by a cloudburst in Ganderbal district, Jammu and Kashmir resulting in the death of at least 16 people who were camping near the Amarnath cave shrine. A part of the camp was washed away when the cloudburst occurred at 6 pm on Friday, ANI reported.
According to a spokesperson of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Delhi, the 16 bodies have been shifted to Baltal.
Rescue operations are in progress. IGP Kashmir and Divisional Commissioner reached Amarnath Cave early on Saturday morning to supervise the rescue operations. Apart from similar assets of the Army, the Mi-17 helicopter of BSF's Air Wing has also been made operational.
As many as 15,000 pilgrims stranded near the Amarnath holy cave have been shifted to the lower base camp at Panjatarni, "no yatri is left on the track", the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) spokesperson was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.
Amarnath Yatra has been temporarily suspended. Meanwhile, ITBP PRO Vivek Kumar Pandey told ANI that 30-40 people are still missing.
"Air rescue operations began this morning as six pilgrims were evacuated. The military medical teams are receiving patients and casualties at the Nilagrar helipad for onward evacuation," an official said on Saturday.
Mountain rescue teams and lookout patrols are working to trace the missing persons, an army official said. A BSF spokesperson said doctors and medical staff of the paramilitary wing treated nine critically injured patients in the flood. "They have been rescued to lower altitude Neelgrath base camp," he said.
PTI reports that a small BSF team has also been deployed at the Neelgrath helipad to assist pilgrims coming from the holy cave. About 150 yatris stayed at the BSF camp set up at Panjtarni on Friday night and 15 patients were airlifted to Baltal on Saturday morning, a BSF spokesperson said.
Officials estimate that at least 25 tents were damaged on Friday. PTI reports that apart from the tents, three community kitchens where food was being served to the pilgrims were also damaged.
According to Divisional Commissioner (Kashmir) K Pandurang Pole who spoke to The Indian Express said that communication and electricity supplies at the camps are functional. "The camp accommodates approximately 3,000 people. The incident took place around 6 pm when the majority of pilgrims were either on the trek or proceeding for dinner," he said.
IGP (Kashmir) Vijay Kumar said that the rescue operation is being carried out by Jammu and Kashmir Police, NDRF and security forces.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives and said "all possible assistance is being provided" to the affected. Modi said he spoke to J&K L-G Manoj Sinha "and took stock of the situation". "Rescue and relief operations are underway," he posted on Twitter.
Sinha said rescue teams have been rushed to the site of the incident and have been instructed to provide "all necessary assistance to the pilgrims". He added that PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have "assured all the help".