Katra, 21 July (H.S.): A massive landslide struck the old track to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, leaving one pilgrim dead and 10 others injured, officials said.
They said a booking office and an overhead iron structure caved in under the weight of the landslide, triggered by heavy rains which lashed Katra town, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting the shrine atop Trikuta hills.
The yatra to the shrine has been suspended till 1 pm as a precautionary measure.
The incident occurred around 8.30 am at Gulshan Ka Langar near Banganga, the starting point for the yatra where mostly pony riders gather along the old track and register before taking the pilgrims to the cave shrine, 12 km from the town.
The landslide resulted in critical injuries to three persons and minor injuries to seven others. All the injured were taken to a hospital, officiating Chief Executive Officer of Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board, Sachin Kumar Vaishya told reporters.
Vaishya, who is also the district magistrate Jammu, rushed to the scene and said a full fledged rescue and debris clearance operation is underway.
An earth-mover was also rushed to speed up the rescue efforts.
The critically injured — Uppan (70) of Chennai, his wife K Radha (66), and Rajinder Bhalla (70) of Haryana — were admitted to Narayan hospital, while Leela Raikwar (56) of Uttar Pradesh was undergoing treatment at community health centre Katra, the officials said.
The officials said one of the critically injured pilgrims succumbed to injuries.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Krishan Kumar
