The victims were camping near the Amarnath cave shrine, when the cloudburst occurred around 6 pm Friday. The flash flood washed away a part of the camp.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration Friday set up a helpline for the Amarnath Yatra, which has been suspended after at least 16 people died after a flash flood triggered by a cloudburst in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal district.
The victims were camping near the Amarnath cave shrine, when the cloudburst occurred around 6 pm Friday. The flash flood washed away a part of the camp. At least 15,000 pilgrims, who were stranded near the Amarnath holy cave, have been shifted to the lower base camp of Panjtarni, and “no yatri is left on the track”, an Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) spokesperson was quoted by news agency PTI as saying. Rescue operations are underway.
The Lt Governor and the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) gave out four telephone numbers where people can get call to get information about the cloudburst:
Helpline numbers
NDRF: 011-23438252, 011-23438253
Kashmir Divisional Helpline: 0194-2496240
Shrine Board Helpline: 0194-2313149
“Focus of administration is on rescue operation with NDRF, SDRF, JKP and other teams in action,” the SASB administration added.
The Anantnag police also shared helpline numbers through their Twitter handle.
Joint Police Control Room, Pahalgam: 9596779039, 9797796217, 01936243233, 01936243018
Police Control Room, Anantnag: 9596777669, 9419051940, 01932225870, 01932222870