Amarnath cloudburst: 15 dead, foot yatra temporarily suspended

ITBP troops conducted a rescue operation early on Saturday!

On Friday, A cloudburst incident took place at the holy cave area of Amarnath on (July 8) which resulted in a heavy discharge of water in the 'Nallah', adjoining the holy cave. 

According to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officials, the cloud burst occurred at the lower holy cave (Amarnath) at around 5.30 pm following which rescue teams were rushed to the spot. 

According to the information, Thirteen people were killed and over 48 others injured.

Keeping the urgency and criticality of the situation in mind, the Directorate of Health Services, Kashmir cancelled all leaves of the staff (Regular/Contractual) and directed them to report to duties immediately.

Injured patients are being taken care of at all three base hospitals: Upper Holy Cave, Lower Holy Cave, Panjtarni and other nearby facilities en route to the holy cave.

With the onset of torrential monsoon, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted heavy rainfall in several states for the next five days. Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Rajasthan are likely to receive heavy (64.5 to 114.5 mm) to very heavy (115.6 to 204.4 mm) rainfall over the next five days, of which three days will be accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning.

Gujarat, Karnataka and Kerala will also encounter heavy to very heavy showers. A red alert was issued for Mumbai at 1pm on Friday for the next 24 hours.

Devotees who had gone to visit the Amarnath cave just before the cloudburst shared their experiences. "We saw the clouds bursting in front of us. We were all watching when the rain came.

Around 5.30 we left, and suddenly there was a loud sound. We are all lucky that we came back after having darshan. All this happened right after the darshan, all the tents were washed away.

"Rescue operation has been intensified; around 30-40 people are still missing. The weather is clear near Amarnath cave. The injured people have been brought to base using helicopters. Yatra is still on hold & we're advising people not to move ahead," said Vivek Kumar Pandey, PRO, ITBP.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish over the incident. "Anguished by the cloudburst near Shree Amarnath cave. Condolences to the bereaved families. Spoke to @manojsinha_ Ji and took stock of the situation. Rescue and relief operations are underway. All possible assistance is being provided to the affected," he said in a tweet.