"Amarnath Rescue Operations continued overnight. No further bodies were recovered. No movement of devotees allowed ahead of base camps," Indian Army said.
Rescue operations at the sacred cave sanctuary of Amarnath continued into the night after a flash flood caused by a highly localised rain washed away hundreds of pilgrims, killing at least 16, according to the Indian Army, news agency ANI reported.
"Amarnath Rescue Operations continued overnight. No further bodies recovered. No movement of devotees allowed ahead of base camps. Convoys permitted only to Jammu from base camp areas. Addl portable through-wall radar, earth-moving equipment being inducted," Indian Army was quoted as saying by ANI on its official Twitter handle.
The flash floods, which happened at 5.30 p.m. on Friday, dropped abundant rain and thick torrents of mud into the valley. According to authorities, the pouring floods damaged 25 tents and three communal kitchens where visitors are fed meals at the base camp outside the shrine in south Kashmir.
However, the deaths and devastation near the Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir were caused by a highly localised rain event rather than a cloudburst, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), news agency PTI reported.
According to meteorological experts, the temple received 31 mm of rain between 4.30 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. on Friday, which is insufficient to be classified as a cloudburst.
Speaking with PTI, IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said, “The flash floods could have been triggered due to rainfall in the higher reaches of the mountains near the Amarnath cave shrine."
A rain event is classified as a cloudburst if a meteorological station receives 100 mm of rain in one hour, according to the IMD.
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