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15k evacuated after Amarnath tragedy, rescuers dig debris
Officials said that 63 injured pilgrims were airlifted from the site and were being treated at SKIMS Hospital in Srinagar.
The death toll in flash floods near the Amarnath cave shrine rose to 15 on Saturday as search and rescue operations continued for the over 40 pilgrims still missing a day after flood water and landslides tore through tents and community kitchens.
Officials said that 63 injured pilgrims were airlifted from the site and were being treated at SKIMS Hospital in Srinagar, while 15,000 stranded people were shifted to the lower base camp of Panjtarni in Anantnag district.
Additional director general of the Jammu and Kashmir Police, Vijay Kumar, reached the cave shrine on Saturday morning to supervise the rescue operations. “Massive joint rescue operation is in progress. So far, 15 bodies have been retrieved and 35 injured have been airlifted for medical attention,” Kumar said.
On Saturday morning, 11 injured pilgrims were airlifted to the Baltal base camp hospital, officials said.
“Most of the pilgrims who were stranded near holy cave area due to flash flood last evening have been shifted to Panjtarni. The ITBP expanded its route opening and protection parties from lower holy cave to Panjtarni. No pilgrim left on track. About 15,000 people safely shifted,” the Indo-Tibetan Border Police said in a statement.
Jammu and Kashmir lieutenant governor Manoj Sinha visited the shrine on Saturday and later met the victims at the SKIMS hospital in Srinagar. He also spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, and briefed them about the rescue operations.
“Our priority is to save the lives of people. Instructions have been issued to provide all necessary assistance to pilgrims. I am closely monitoring the situation,” the LG said.
According to an army official, mountain rescue teams and lookout patrols with high-tech equipment and sniffer dogs have been deployed for the search and rescue operation. “Air rescue operations started Saturday morning and six pilgrims were evacuated by army helicopters. The military medical teams are receiving patients and casualties at the Nilagrar helipad for onward evacuation,” an official said.
A Mi-17 chopper of the Border Security Force’s air wing has been pressed into service. The Jammu and Kashmir administration has also deployed advanced light helicopters for rescue operations.
Giving details of the coordinated rescue operations, Kumar said the rescuers were clearing the debris to look for survivors while the administration was cross-checking the data of pilgrims to get the exact number of casualties.
Every pilgrim has been provided with a radio frequency identification card for the yatra this year in view of the increased terror threats in the region.
While initial reports suggested that the flash floods were triggered by a cloud burst, the India Meteorological Department late on Friday said it was due to a highly localised rain event.
According to weather scientists, the shrine reported 31mm of rainfall between 4.30pm and 6.30pm on Friday.
“It was a highly localised cloud only over the holy cave. Such rain had happened earlier this year as well. No flash flood,” said Sonam Lotus, director of the regional meteorological centre in Srinagar.
The Jammu administration has suspended the yatra temporarily in view of the inclement weather, officials said.
“Amarnath Yatris are requested not to reach Yatri Niwas base camp in Bhagwati Nagar in Jammu city on Sunday due to temporary halt in yatra caused by rains. All are welcome to other lodging centres of Jammu,” said Avny Lavasa, Jammu district commissioner.
The pilgrims who were rescued from the site at the Baltal base camp said it was a miracle they could escape the floods.
“We can’t believe how we were saved from the gushing waters. Seeing the condition there, we kept on moving towards base camp even during the night. I saw some people were looking for their missing relatives,” said Pawan Kumar, a pilgrim from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh.
Recalling the narrow escape, Pawan said: “It all happened within an hour when water washed away everything.”
The pilgrims also lauded the efforts of the rescue team.
“Our lives were saved by prompt action of the army jawans, otherwise we would have been either dead or among the injured,” said Meenal, a pilgrim from Delhi.
The rescue teams were rushed to the spot soon after reports of the floods emerged around 5.30pm on Friday, defence spokesperson Colonel Emron Masuvi said.
He said an infantry battalion led by a Colonel along with quick reaction teams, an additional company of personnel from the Rashtriya Rifles Sector and a team from special forces reached the holy cave along with specialised rescue equipment to undertake the operation.
“Through the night, the senior army officers of the infantry battalion and Rashtriya Rifles oversaw and coordinated rescue operations from the cave and Nilgrar. Medical resources at the cave and at Nilgrar were activated and additional resources deployed,” the official said.
He said nine surveillance detachments with hand-held thermal imagers, night vision devices and other gadgets were deployed for the search operations.
“Two advanced light helicopters (ALHs) were moved for casualty evacuation at the holy cave. However, owing to bad weather, night landing at the cave was unsuccessful. Two Through Wall Radars and two Search And Rescue dog squads were also moved to the cave for the rescue operation,” he added.
Giving details of the evacuations, the official said the search, rescue and medical effort continued at daybreak.
“At 6.45am, the first ALH landed at the site to commence evacuation of the injured. A total of 15 bodies and 63 injured yatris have been taken out. Both Army and Civilian helicopters are carrying out relentless sorties to evacuate the injured and the dead,” he said.
“A total of 28 patients have been evacuated from the cave to advanced dressing station Nilagrar. After stabilising, 11 have further been moved to SKIMS Srinagar in civil helicopters for treatment,” he added.
The bodies have been moved from the cave to Nilagrar while stranded yatris are being escorted by the Indian Army personnel up to Baltal, since the track is slushy and slippery.
Meanwhile, notwithstanding the flash floods and the deaths, the 11th batch of 6,047 pilgrims left Jammu city on Saturday for the twin base camps in Kashmir.
“4,013 pilgrims, who preferred Pahalgam route, were allowed to proceed further from Chanderkote in Ramban towards Pahalgam,” said Harbans Lal Sharma, Ramban additional district commissioner, who is also the nodal officer for Amarnath Yatra.
“However, 2034 Baltal bound pilgrims were stopped at Chanderkote Yatri Niwas camp,” he said.
The 43-day annual pilgrimage started on June 30 from the twin routes -- the traditional 48-km route from Nunwan in Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir.
Over 100,000 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the cave shrine with the yatra scheduled to end on August 11.
The pilgrimage to the cave shrine is being held after a gap of three years. In 2019, the pilgrimage was cancelled midway ahead of the Centre abrogating Article 370 provisions of the Constitution. The pilgrimage did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
(With agency inputs)
