Amarnath tragedy: Army joins in rescuing trapped pilgrims

Story by  Aasha Khosa | Posted by  Aasha Khosa • 1 Years ago
Security personnel rescuing the injured pilgrims at Amarnath cave
Security personnel rescuing the injured pilgrims at Amarnath cave

 

New Delhi
 
Army has joined the NDRF and other national forces in rescuing some 40 persons who were reported missing and are believed to be trapped in the debris of the flash floods in the Sindh nullah close to the Holy case of Amarnath caused by heavy rains in the higher ranges.

So far 13 persons have died in the tragedy while 48 persons were injured. The injured have been shifted to hospitals en route to the cave.
 
The authorities have suspended the pilgrimage to the abode of Shiva till further notice.
 
Nishtish Kumar, Chief executive officer of Shri  Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) said, “This is an unfortunate incident. Our focus is to rescue the pilgrims and take them to safe places. NDRF helpline numbers are active. Rescue work is underway. Army helicopters are also in action; search operation is on.”

Rescue operations continued in the night and authorities say there is fear of more casualties.
 
A video of a pilgrims soon after he was rescued from under the debris of flash flood clicked by officials is being widely shared on Twitter and other social media platforms:
 
As of now, all the 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 by the health care workers deputed at these stations.
 
Six teams are involved in the rescue operation. Two search and rescue Dog Squads with one each from Pattan and Sharifabad were inducted by air to Panjtarni and onward to the holy cave, said the Indian army.

"The injured patients are being managed well and are stable as of now," said Dr. A Shah, Chief Medical Officer Ganderbal, Jammu, and Kashmir.
 
“As of now 13 dead and 48 injured. Six teams are involved in the rescue operation. Two additional medical teams were also sent. Two search and rescue dog squads with one each from Pattan and Sharifabad being inducted by Air to Panjtarni and onward to the holy cave," Dr Shah said.
 

ITBP troopers helping a pilgrim during the midnight rescue operation at Amarnath Cave
 
Atul Karwal, Director General of the NDRF told the new channels that since one team of NDRF was stationed at the Cave, its personnel had managed to save many people from being washed away by the flash floods. He said three people have been rescued so far.
 
According to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) officials, the cloud burst occurred at the lower holy cave (Amarnath) at around 5.30 PM and the rescue teams rushed to the spot.
 
However, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said that the flash flood was not caused by a cloudburst.
 
Every year, IMD releases a special weather advisory for Amarnath Yatra. The general, daily forecast for the district on Friday was yellow alert (means, keep watch). Even the evening forecast, up on the Amarnath Yatra forecast website at 4.07 pm, said, "Partly cloudy sky with possibility of very light rain" r all along the route from both Pahalgam side and Baltal side. There was no accompanying warning.
 
As per the data from the automatic weather station (AWS) at the holy cave, there was no rainfall from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm.
 
"Then there was just 3 mm rainfall between 4:30 pm and 5:30 pm. However, between 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm there was 28 mm rainfall," said an IMD scientist.
 

Tents close to the Holy Cave that were washed away by flash flood
 
According to eyewitness accounts and the multiple videos going viral on social media, a stream between two mountain faces -- barely 200-300 meters away from the cave entry -- brought down heavy rubble along with a large quantity of water. It was the result of rainfall behind the holy cave.
 
"It was a highly localized cloud only over the holy cave. Such rain happened earlier this year as well. It was not a flash flood," said Sonam Lotus, who heads the Regional Meteorological Centre at Srinagar that looks after the UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
Lotus also confirmed that it was likely that there was severe rainfall at a higher altitude than the cave.