Road Accident Injures 30 Amarnath Pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir

Accident Details

Srinagar, July 28: A road mishap in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir left at least 30 Amarnath Yatris injured on Tuesday.

According to officials, the incident occurred when a bus carrying approximately 40 pilgrims skidded off the road and fell into a gorge near the S-Mode area of Hariganiwan in the Gund region.

The driver of the bus, registered as AR11 D5655, reportedly lost control, leading to the vehicle's plunge into the gorge.

Rescue teams, along with police, SDRF, and local volunteers, quickly arrived at the scene to conduct a rescue operation.

Around 30 pilgrims were injured and transported to a nearby hospital in Kangan for medical attention. Two of the injured sustained head injuries but are currently in stable condition, while the rest are also reported to be stable.

Authorities have acknowledged the incident and have begun an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

Pilgrimage Update

On Monday, nearly 12,000 pilgrims visited the holy cave shrine located at an altitude of 3,880 meters in the Anantnag district of South Kashmir.

By Monday evening, officials reported that 11,996 pilgrims had performed darshan at the holy cave via the Baltal route.

Since the commencement of the 57-day Yatra on July 3, a total of 426,339 pilgrims have visited the shrine.

On July 29, Mahant Deependra Giri Ji, the custodian of the holy mace of Shri Amarnath Ji, will conduct the Bhoomi Pujan, Navgrah Puja, and Dawajarohan of Chhari Mubarak in Pahalgam on Ashad Purnima.

During the return journey, the Chhari Mubarak will stop at the holy Sun temple of Martand (Mattan) for puja and will also visit the Ganeshbal temple near Pahalgam.

Additionally, another group of 3,029 Yatris departed from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu for the Baltal base camp in an escorted convoy this morning. However, the Yatra through the South Kashmir Pahalgam route was suspended for the day due to track maintenance.