SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a cloudburst that hit near a Hindu cave shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir rose to 16 on Saturday, officials said, with more than 40 still missing.
The downpour triggered a flash flood on Friday evening and swept away makeshift tents as well as community kitchens near the Amarnath shrine.
"Sixteen people have been confirmed dead. About 40 still seem to be missing," National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director-General Atul Karwal was quoted by local media reports as having said. "Four NDRF teams with over 100 rescuers are carrying out rescue work."
Reports said nearly 15,000 pilgrims were moved to safe areas from near the cave shrine after the cloudburst.
Officials said the injured pilgrims were airlifted from the cloudburst affected area by military choppers.
Authorities have pressed the Indian Army, the State Disaster Response Force, the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and others to carry out the rescue work.
The rescuers have been continuously clearing the debris to search for the missing near the cloudburst affected area. The rescue teams have deployed sniffer dogs and two through-wall imaging radars (TWIRs) to detect the presence of victims buried under the debris.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the cloudburst and said all possible assistance was being provided to the affected.
The annual pilgrimage to the Hindu cave shrine of Amarnath perched high in the Himalaya mountain, located 3,888 meters above sea level, began last week.
Two trek routes lead to the shrine -- one from Baltal about 110 km north of Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, while another from Pahalgam, about 100 km south of Srinagar.
Authorities have set up bunkers and parked scores of bullet-proof bunkers along the pilgrimage route from Jammu to the shrine as part of heightened security measures to ensure the pilgrimage would be carried out without any hindrance.
