The flash flood triggered by a cloudburst near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir swept away scores of people, killing at least 16 and swamping tents and community kitchens on Friday evening.
At least 15,000 pilgrims have been shifted to the lower base camp, while more than 40 people are still missing, officials said.
The Indian Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, or ITBP, continued the rescue operation throughout the night as they looked for missing persons in the cloudburst-affected area at the lower Amarnath Cave site. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has sent three teams comprising about 75 rescuers, an official said.