Thousands rescued at flood-hit Hindu pilgrimage in Kashmir [View all]
Source: AP
By AIJAZ HUSSAIN
SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Emergency workers rescued thousands of pilgrims after flash floods triggered by sudden rains swept through their makeshift camps during an annual Hindu pilgrimage to an icy Himalayan cave in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Saturday. At least 16 people have died and dozens were injured.
Authorities suspended the pilgrimage for two days as rains continued to lash the region. Teams of rescuers from India’s military, paramilitary and police as well as disaster management officials combed through the slippery mountain tracks and used thermal imaging devices, sniffer dogs and through-the-wall radars to locate dozens of missing.
They dug through mud, sand and rocks that swamped the campsites on Friday evening after hurtling down with a gush of water near the cave shrine revered by Hindus. Civilian and military helicopters evacuated the injured to hospitals.
Thousands of people were in the mountains when the rains struck.
Indian army soldiers carry an injured of a cloudburst for treatment, at Baltal, 105 kilometers (65miles) northeast of Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, July 9, 2022. At least eight pilgrims have been killed after a cloudburst triggered a flash flooding during an annual Hindu pilgrimage to an icy Himalayan cave in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Officials say the cloudburst near the hollowed mountain cave revered by Hindus on Friday sent a wall of water down a mountain gorge and swept about two dozen encampments and two makeshift kitchens. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/floods-covid-health-religion-india-e2e39b09d47d185bd00ec64ff10835be
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