Cloudburst near Amarnath shrine, 10 casualties reported

New Delhi: A cloudburst incident took place at the holy cave area of Amarnath on Friday which resulted in a heavy discharge of water in the ‘Nallah’, adjoining the holy cave.

Talking to the media on the incident, NDRF DG Atul Karwal said, ”One NDRF team is always deployed near the holy cave…10 casualties reported so far.”

Amarnath cloudburst | One NDRF team is always deployed near the holy cave, it immediately engaged in the rescue work. One more team has been deployed & another is on its way. 10 casualties reported so far; 3 rescued alive: NDRF DG Atul Karwal pic.twitter.com/jXEbubzJOk

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2022

Hearing the tragic news, PM Modi expressed his condolences to the bereaved families. ”Anguished by the cloud burst near Shree Amaranth cave…Spoke to Manoj Sinha ji and took stock of the situation. Rescue and relief operations are underway. All possible assistance is being provided to the affected,” read the tweet of PM Modi.

A senior ITBP official said that water came from above and sides of the cave after it rained heavily at the upper reaches. The rain has stopped for now.

A team of Central Armes Police Force and the Indian Army acted swiftly and carried out the evacuation operation, which is currently underway.

The official has informed that the flow of water in the Nallah turned normal after the rain stopped.

Many tents were washed away. Forces began the rescue work immediately. We are working in tandem with the Indian Army and other rescue forces. Some people were rescued from being washed away in the river: Vivek Kumar Pandey, PRO, ITBP pic.twitter.com/y7IOgMGjsb

— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2022

“Some casualties feared. No clarity as of now. Rescue teams are on the job,” the official said.