Image: PTI
The holy pilgrimage to Amarnath cave started on June 30. But a natural disaster transpired in the form of a cloud burst on July 8, triggering a flash flood in Amarnath, that has around 15,000 pilgrims stranded near the cave in Jammu and Kashmir. While several pilgrims were shifted to the lower base camp of Panjtarni on July 9, around 16 people are confirmed dead and 40 remain missing.
However, the Border Security Force (BSF) is constantly on the search and rescue operation near the holy cave after the flash flood and landslide hit a camp and swept away tents, community kitchens, and many people. As per the BSF spokesperson in Delhi, they have shifted 16 dead bodies to Baltal so far and are now searching for missing people. No pilgrim has been left behind on the trek and thousands of them are safely shifted to the base camp.
Image: PTI
The BSF spokesperson also mentioned that medical staff and doctors of the force have treated nine critically injured patients. A small team is also deployed at the Neelgrath helipad to assist the pilgrims from the cave shrine. Even a Mi-17 chopper of the BSF’s air wing is on the service for rescue and search operations.
After the tragic Amarnath pilgrimage flash flood, many political leaders from India and Pakistan expressed grief on their Twitter handles. Here are some tweets expressing condolences:
Via: Times of India