A senior Jammu and Kashmir disaster management official today apologised for posting a video on social media saying that about 4,000 pilgrims were shifted to safety from near the holy cave shrine of Amarnath after a cloudburst triggered flash floods
"I tender an unconditional apology for the goof up. I was misled by some unscrupulous person with an old video," said the official.
Officials say there were heavy rains at the cave shrine yesterday and only 500 pilgrims were present there. "Pilgrims were asked to move to safer places. The total number of pilgrims was only around 500. There was no rescue operation as such," said a senior official.
The yatra was temporarily suspended after the heavy rains.
The Amarnath yatra to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Lord Shiva, located in the upper reaches of the Himalayas, is prone to frequent rainfall and receives heavy snow during winters.
The 43-day Amarnath yatra began after a gap of three years on June 30. In 2019, the yatra was cancelled midway ahead of the Centre scrapping Article 370 provisions of the Constitution. The pilgrimage did not take place in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
Record 5.12 Lakh Pilgrims Complete Amarnath Yatra This Year: Amit Shah Cloudburst In Himachal Pradesh's Rampur, Road Washed Away Himachal Pradesh Cloudbursts Death Count Rises To 28 As 6 More Bodies Found Russia Launches ICBM At Ukraine In Stern Message To Kyiv, Western Allies Meet 69-Year-Old St Stephen's Alumnus Who Posed As Ex IPS To Con Officials Ellen DeGeneres, Partner Portia de Rossi Leave US After Trump's Win: Report Drugs, Mega Land Deal: Builder Duped Of Rs 1 Crore In 'Digital Arrest' Scam Tallest And Shortest Women Meet To Celebrate Guinness World Records Day Kuki Man Killed By Suspected Meitei Militants On Day Wife Gave Birth To Baby Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.