Amarnath pilgrim dies of heart attack, toll rises to 18

Srinagar, Jul 19: An Amarnath pilgrim today died of cardiac arrest while undergoing treatment at Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) here raising the death toll in the ongoing yatra to 18.

Sandeep Singh (18), hailing from Punjab, fell seriously ill at Baltal base camp on July 15 and was rushed to SKIMS, the super speciality tertiary care hospital, here where he died in the morning, officials said.

Singh's death took the number of pilgrims who died of cardiac arrest during the ongoing yatra to 14, they said.

In addition, a yatri and a local driver were killed in a road accident, while a CRPF jawan and a sevedar at a community kitchen for the yatris at Baltal base camp also died of massive heart attack.

PTI