Amarnath Yatra: 8 pilgrims die of natural causes

New Delhi, July 15: Eight pilgrims died due to natural causes in the last 36 hours during the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, taking the pilgrimage's death toll to 41, officials said on Thursday, according to news agency PTI.

The total includes 15 pilgrims who died in the flash flood triggered by a cloudburst near the cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas last week.

The eight pilgrims who died were identified as Mongilal (52) from Rajasthan, Vriag Lal Hira Chand Vyas (57) from Gujarat, Basavaraja (68) from Karnataka, Pooniamoorthi (63) from Singapore, Kiran Chaturvedi from Maharashtra, Kalavala Suberamanyam (63) from Andhra Pradesh, Govind Sharan (34) from Uttar Pradesh, and Satveer Singh (70) from Haryana, the officials said.

The annual Amarnath Yatra began on June 30 but was suspended following the flash flood on July 8.

The pilgrimage resumed on July 11.