Amarnath Yatra: 2 pilgrims, 1 porter die; toll rises to 18

Srinagar, Jul 17:Two more pilgrims and a porter died enroute to the 3,880 metre-high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, taking the death toll in the ongoing yatra to 18, officials said.

Ujesh Rawal (47), a resident of Mumbai, suffered cardiac arrest at Panjtarni along the traditional 45-km Pahalgam-cave route in Anantnag district last evening, the officials said.

They said 58-year-old Charanjeet Makaar of Punjab died near the shorter 16-km Baltal cave route in Ganderbal district.

Manzoor Ahmad Sheikh, a porter, also died when he was struck by lightening in Panjtarni area last evening. The latest deaths along the twin routes raised the toll in the ongoing yatra, which started on July 2, to 18.

The dead also included a CRPF jawan. So far, over 2.25 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the cave shrine which houses the naturally formed ice-shivlingam.

PTI