Amarnath Cloudburst: 15 Killed, more than 40 injured, Yatra Suspended

0

Srinagar: Atleast 15 people were killed and more than 40 people were injured after  cloudburst near the Amarnath cave shrine on Friday and the yatra was suspended.

The Yatra has been momentarily halted from the base camps in Baltal and Pahalgam, according to the authorities.

On Saturday morning at first light, teams from the NDRF, SDRF, BSF, CRPF, Army, police, and ITBP continued their rescue efforts, according to officials.

Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Ganderbal district, Afroza Shah has told reporters that 15 people have died and over 40 injured in Friday’s flash flood triggered by the cloudburst. She said five people were rescued alive from the debris of the flash flood.

Later, the Amarnath cave shrine’s rescue efforts were resumed on Saturday. The operation to ascertain the exact number of casualties, injuries and missing persons is still going on.

Reports from the disaster site said 25 to 30 tents of the pilgrims and five ‘Langars’ (Community Kitchens) were washed away in the high-speed muddy slush triggered by the cloudburst that occurred around 5.30 p.m. Friday.

The Army has pressed helicopters into service to assist the civil administration in relief and rescue operations. Army said that the rescue operations by security forces continued throughout the night.

MeT department has forecast that another cloud is moving towards the Baltal-Holy cave route which is likely to cause light to moderate rainfall.

“Flash flood/shooting stone may occur at vulnerable places. Please remain alert,” the forecast said.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.