Cloudburst Near Amarnath Cave Kills 10 Pilgrims, Thousands Stranded, PM Modi expressed Condolences

Amidst heavy rain and flood warnings, a cloudburst caused floods near the Amarnath cave. The water that came with the strong current took away the anchor and 25 tents. There are reports of several passengers being flown in it. Ten bodies have been recovered till late evening. However, as per the latest reports, at least 13 people, primarily Amarnath pilgrims, have died and dozens went missing, following flash floods, and cloud bursts that caused landslips near the Baltal base camp in central Kashmir. The injured are being airlifted. All the agencies related to disaster management including NDRF, and SDRF have started the rescue operation. NDRF Director General Atul Karwal said that ten people have died. Some people have been rescued.

On the matter, PM Narendra Modi took to Twitter and wrote, "Anguished by the cloud burst near Shree Amarnath cave. Condolences to the bereaved families. Spoke to Manjoj Sinha Ji and took stock of the situation. Rescue and relief operations are underway. All possible assistance is being provided to the affected.

People were immediately brought safely to the slopes of the mountain from the tents placed right in front of the cave. It is being told that due to a cloudburst at around 5.30 pm, water suddenly came with a strong current from the top left side of the holy Amarnath cave. During that time, thousands of travelers were in their tents right in front of the cave amid the rain.

Some passengers were even standing outside wearing raincoats. The flood water started flowing through the flat plain in front of the cave. Before anyone could understand, the strong current of water had engulfed two langars and 25 passenger tents. There was a stampede among the passengers. Disaster management teams started evacuating the passengers to safer places.

To escape the flood, the travelers left their tents and climbed the slopes of the mountain. Kashmir Zone Police IG Vijay Kumar said that there was a flood due to a cloudburst near the holy cave. All the agencies are involved in the rescue operation. The injured are being airlifted. The situation is under control at present.