Swift rescue operations followed after a cloudburst near the Amarnath shrine in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday evening led to flash floods, claiming 16 lives. More than 15,000 people were said to be rescued and 40 were believed to be missing as the army, National Disaster Response Force, Jammu and Kashmir Police - among others - worked overnight to help people.
Amarnath Tragedy: More than a dozen people are reported dead.
As the operations continued on Saturday, survivors recalled the nightmare that unfolded. The Amarnath Yatra has been suspended for now.
“A stampede-like situation unfolded, but the army supported a lot. Many pandals were washed away. Stones also came rolling down. We were evacuated after the flow of water stopped. The situation was horrifying. Many people went missing,” Deepak Chouhan, a pilgrim from Uttar Pradesh, told news agency ANI.
“When the cloudburst took place, we could not believe it. After a while, we only saw water everywhere. We all had a harrowing experience as we witnessed people and bags being swept away by strong waves. Within 10 minutes, eight casualties were reported. We were a group of nine people and all of us were thankfully saved,” Sumit, who came from Maharashtra, said.
The Amarnath Yatra started on June 30 after a hiatus of two years due to the pandemic. J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha has been constantly monitoring the situation.
“The relief and rescue operation is underway. All teams including NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army, and State forces are working in coordination. It is difficult to predict the exact time to complete the rescue operation,” Lt Col Sachin Sharma told ANI on Saturday.
“A total of eight choppers including Air Force and Army helicopters are in use for the rescue,” he added.
On Friday, soon after the incident, PM Modi had tweeted: "Anguished by the cloud burst 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."
(With inputs from ANI)
