Rescuers recovered eight dead after the downpour near the cave, Kashmir Police Chief Vijay Kumar said. “Some tents and community kitchens were swept away by the flood waters,” he said.
Thirteen people have died and at least 36 are missing after torrential downpours caused flooding near a Hindu shrine in Indian Kashmir, an official said.
The annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine involves tens of thousands of Hindus who cross glaciers and swamps to reach the cave which contains a stalagmite, which they consider a physical manifestation of the god Shiva.
Rescuers recovered eight dead after the downpour near the cave, Kashmir Police Chief Vijay Kumar said. “Some tents and community kitchens were washed away by the flood waters,” he said.
Another official, who asked not to be named, raised the death toll to 13 after he said five more bodies had been found.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families and assured that “every possible assistance” would be provided to those affected.
The cave is covered with snow during most of the year. Authorities only allow pilgrims to visit for 45 days in summer, when the passages are opened as the temperature rises. In the previous two years, the pilgrimage had been banned due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Authorities are expecting a record number of pilgrims this year, estimating that they will reach as many as 800,000. In the first 10 days alone, 60,000 people arrived in the area.
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