Amarnath yatra: Five pilgrims dead, seven injured

Five pilgrims, including two women, died enroute the 3,880 metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the toll during the ongoing yatra to six, police said on Wednesday.

Chander Kanta, 63, a resident of Haryana, died at Domail along the shorter Baltal Cave route in Ganderbal district on Wednesday morning, a police spokesman said.

He said another woman pilgrim identified, Geeta, 55, a resident of Bengaluru, breathed her last at the Baltal base camp Baltal on Tuesday.

Rajbeer Saini, 40, of Haryana and Ramchand Jogmal Thavni, 73, of Maharashtra died on Tuesday at Sangam and lower camp holy cave, respectively, the spokesman said.

An Amarnath pilgrim drowned while taking a bath in a river in Kathua district, police said in Jammu. Kuldeep, who was on pilgrimage along with his family members to the Amarnath cave shrine, went to take bath in the river in Gagwal area and drowned, they said, adding his body has been fished out and handed over to his family members.     

Earlier, a 27-year-old yatri from Punjab had died of heart at Baltal. Meanwhile, seven Amarnath pilgrims were injured when two vehicles carrying them collided near Rayaldund Chawri in Anantnag district last night. They have been hospitalised, the spokesman said.

The Amarnath yatra commenced on June 25 from the twin routes of Baltal and traditional Pahalgam in Anantnag district and so far over 34,000 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the cave shrine housing the naturally formed Shivlingam.