On Friday, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director Atul Karwal informed that at least 10 people were killed and 40 others feared missing after a cloudburst hit near a Hindu cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
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"Cloudburst occurred at lower Amarnath cave at around 5:30 p.m. local time," a disaster management official said, adding that "three community kitchens have been washed away due to heavy flow of water near the shrine."
"One NDRF team is always deployed near the holy cave, it immediately engaged in the rescue work. One more team has been deployed and another is on its way. 10 casualties were reported so far and three rescued alive," Karwal said.
An annual pilgrimage to the Hindu cave shrine of Amarnath perched high in the Himalayas, located 3,888 meters above sea level, began last week.
Two trek routes lead to the shrine, one from Baltal about 110 km north of Srinagar city, the region's summer capital, while another one from Pahalgam about 100 km south of Srinagar.
The cave houses the ice stalagmite, referred by Hindus as Shiv Lingam (the phallus of Lord Shiva). During the beginning of the pilgrimage, the ice stalagmite stands 4.6 meters high, following which it starts melting owing to the high influx of pilgrims inside the cave.
The Authorities have set up bunkers and parked scores of bullet-proof bunkers along the pilgrimage right from Jammu to the shrine as part of heightened security cover to ensure the pilgrimage is carried out without any hindrance.