The cloudburst happened at 5.30 pm and caused flash floods. According to reports, five yatris have been rescued while 40 others are missing.
Around 15,000 pilgrims have been moved to safety from near the sacred cave shrine of Amarnath after a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst swept away scores of people, taking away at least 15 lives. More than 40 people are still not traceable, officials said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police have tweeted and informed about the contact numbers for assistance for those affected by the massive cloud burst.
Amarnath Yatra information to general public.
In view of inclement weather conditions & cloud burst, General public is advised to contact following telephone numbers for any kind of assistance.
Joint Police Control Room Pahalgam
9596779039
9797796217
01936243233
01936243018— J&K Police (@JmuKmrPolice) July 8, 2022
The Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, or ITBP, continued the rescue operation overnight as they looked for missing persons in the cloudburst-affected area at the lower Amarnath Cave site. Three teams of The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) consisted of about 75 rescuers, an official said.
ITBP troops are also providing first aid to those injured at Sangam Top. These pilgrims have been diverted from the holy cave to Panchgani after a flash flood near the holy cave.
Pilgrims who were safely evacuated from the affected areas have narrated horrifying accounts of the floods triggered by the cloudburst swamping tents and community kitchens with mud and large rocks. Some of the pandals that were two kilometers away from the cloudburst site were also affected, pilgrims narrated.
“Within merely 10 minutes of the disaster, eight casualties were reported. The water carried a large number of stones with it. There were approximately 15,000 pilgrims who came for the pilgrims. The pilgrims continued to come despite heavy rains,” a pilgrim said.
In an unfortunate event, at least 13 Amarnath pilgrims died and more than three dozen are missing on Friday late evening after a cloudburst at Baltal in Ganderbal which houses the base camp for the sacred pilgrimage.
The corpse of the pilgrims who died has been recovered by the National Disaster Response Force.
The cloudburst happened at 5.30 pm and caused flash floods. According to reports, five yatris have been rescued while 40 others are missing. The floods washed away tents and langers set up for the yatris.
Major Cloudburst at lower Amarnath Holy Cave at 5.30 PM today. More than 5 people missing and three langars have washed away due to heavy flow of water. Rescue teams including Indian Army, ITBP, J&K police have been rushed to the spot. #amarnath #AmarnathYatra #cloudburst pic.twitter.com/ps8vyBKVgb
— HW News English (@HWNewsEnglish) July 8, 2022
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