Amarnath Yatra: The 62-day-long Amaranth Yatra started on July 1 and will end on August 31 on Shravan Purnima coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival. This is the second death in the Amarnath Yatra this year.
A 50-year-old pilgrim slipped to his death along the north Kashmir Baltal route to the cave shrine on Friday. Jammu and Kashmir Police said that while returning from the holy cave, a pilgrim identified as Vijay Kumar Shah (50) slipped down nearly 300 feet near Kali Mata Morh and died on the spot.
The deceased was a resident of Tumba village in Rohtas District of Bihar. According to officials, the man was accompanied by a woman. They also said that apart from Vijay another pilgrim was injured on the route to the shrine.
“They lost the balance and fell down the track, in which one died on the spot while another suffered injuries,” the official said. The injured pilgrim is going through treatment at Brarimarg base camp hospital and her condition is said to be stable. “One pilgrim namely Vijay Kumar Shah (50), a resident of village Tumba, Rohtas District, Bihar while returning from the holy Amarnath Cave slipped near Kali mata and fell 300 feet down. The pilgrim was rescued jointly by Mountain Rescue Team and the army, but later on, he died,” Jammu and Kashmir Police said.
“The body was retrieved and is being transported to Baltal Base camp hospital. The injured woman is under treatment at Brarimarg base camp hospital”, police said. Meanwhile, this is the second death in the Amarnath Yatra this year. On August 15, a 65-year-old pilgrim from Delhi died of a heart attack. The 62-day-long Amaranth Yatra started on July 1 and will end on August 31 on Shravan Purnima coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival. So far, over 4.50 lakh pilgrims have performed the ongoing yatra.
