A heavy downpour triggered a landslide on the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop Jammu and Kashmir’s Trikuta hills, leaving at least six dead and 14 injured.
Six people were killed and over a dozen injured when a landslide struck the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hills on Tuesday afternoon, amid relentless heavy rain battering the region. With this, the death toll in the state over the past 24 hours has risen to 10.
The pilgrimage to the revered shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district was suspended following the incident, officials said.
A massive rescue operation is underway near the Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Adhkwari, where the landslide occurred around 3 pm, at a point roughly halfway along the 12-km trek to the hilltop shrine. The Army said its personnel were “swiftly mobilised for rescue and relief operations” and that “efforts are underway to save lives, provide assistance to the needy, and move civilians to safe areas.”
Anticipating heavy rain, a red alert has been issued in several districts of the state, including Anantnag, Kishtwar, Doda, Kathua, Ramban, Udhampur, Reasi, Rajouri, Jammu, and Sabma.
The Yatra has been suspended in view of the situation, and the shrine authorities have urged devotees to reschedule their journey. Earlier in the day, the Yatra along the Himkoti trek route was already suspended. Pilgrims were allowed to proceed on the old route until 1:30 pm, when authorities halted it completely due to torrential rain.
