Amarnath tragedy: 15,000 pilgrims rescued, yatra to resume soon | Top points

A flash flood triggered by a cloudburst near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir swept away pilgrims, killing at least 16 with more reported missing. Rescue officials have evacuated 15,000 pilgrims while CRPF chief said Yatra will resume in a day or two.

At least 16 people were killed and 40 were missing after a cloudburst near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir. The cloudburst took place at around 5:30 pm on Friday, resulting in heavy discharge of water near the cave shrine.

Ever since the incident was first reported, officials have rescued as many as 15,000 stranded pilgrims and shifted them to the lower base camp of Panjtarni. Search operations went on without a break on Saturday amid fears that many are still trapped under the debris.

Meanwhile, CRPF chief Kuldeep Singh said the Amarnath Yatra may resume within a day or two.

1. The rescue operations were carried out by a joint effort of the Indian Army, the CRPF, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) along with teams of National Disaster Response Force, state disaster response force, and police.

2. Bodies of the 16 pilgrims who died after the cloudburst were shifted from the BSF Kashmir headquarter in Srinagar to Police headquarters.

3. The Indian Air Force (IAF) and BSF used ALH Dhruv and Mi-17 choppers to air lift injured persons and dead bodies. The IAF’s Mi-17V5 helicopters rescued 21 survivors and brought back six mortal remains.