Ganderbal: Security personnel during a rescue operation after a cloudburst hit Baltal area, which houses a base camp for the Amarnath pilgrimage, in Ganderbal district on Friday, July 8, 2022. At least 13 pilgrims died while more than three dozen are missing. (Photo: Nisar Malik /IANS)
Srinagar| A cloudburst near Amarnath cave in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday evening killed 15 people and injured over 40. The rescue team is helping people. Meanwhile, the Amarnath Yatra has been temporarily postponed. The authorities have temporarily suspended the yatra from both the base camps in Baltal and Pahalgam.
Officials said that teams of NDRF, SDRF, BSF, CRPF, Army, Police and ITBP started the rescue operations on Saturday morning.
Ganderbal district’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Afroza Shah told reporters that 15 people died and over 40 were injured in the floods triggered by a cloudburst on Friday. He said five people were rescued from the debris of the flash floods.
The operation is still on to ascertain the exact number of injured and missing.
Reports received from the disaster site said that 25 to 30 tents and five ‘langars’ (community kitchens) of the pilgrims were washed away in the strong current due to the cloudburst around 5.30 pm on Friday.
The Army has pressed into service helicopters to assist the civil administration in relief and rescue operations.
The Meteorological Department has predicted that another cloud is moving towards the Baltal-Sacred Cave route, which is likely to bring light to moderate rain.
