One woman pilgrim heading for the Amarnath cave shrine was killed, and nine security personnel were injured due to a fresh spell of rain in the Kashmir valley on July 16. Meanwhile, the yatra was suspended due to the inclement weather.
The pilgrim, identified as Urmilaben (53) died after a shooting stone hit her between Sangam Top and Lower Cave in south Kashmir on Saturday evening, a police spokesman said.
Two members of the Mountain Rescue Team of the Jammu and Kashmir Police were also “grievously injured” during a rescue operation to shift the pilgrim, the police said.
Also read: Amarnath yatra: a soul-stirring spiritual sojourn
“The injured police personnel were evacuated by the Army. A private helicopter was put into service to shift them,” the police said.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh appreciated the commitment of the two policemen.
CRPF personnel injured in vehicle accident
In another accident, seven CRPF personnel were injured when the vehicle they were in skidded off the road in Ganderbal’s Baltal area. The vehicle fell into a ditch in the Nilgrath area in Baltal, officials said.
Three seriously injured officers were shifted to a hospital in Srinagar. The personnel were on the way to the cave shrine when the accident took place, officials added.
Meanwhile, the yatra has been suspended temporarily from the twin routes in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and central Kashmir’s Baltal following rains in the past 12 hours.
A total of 2.08 lakh pilgrims have visited the Amarnath Shrine since the yatra started on July 1.
