JAMMU, Aug. 27 — The death toll from a devastating landslide on the Vaishno Devi pilgrimage route in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district rose to 32 on Wednesday, with rescuers recovering more bodies from beneath the debris, officials said. At least 20 others were injured and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.
The landslide struck Tuesday afternoon near Inderprastha Bhojnalaya at Ardhkuwari, around halfway along the 12-kilometer trek from Katra to the hilltop shrine. Heavy rain sent boulders and mud cascading down the hillside at about 3 p.m., burying several pilgrims on the crowded route. “We fear more people could still be trapped,” an official involved in the rescue operation noted.
According to authorities, 30 bodies were pulled out from the rubble at the site, while two of the injured later succumbed in hospital. The Vaishno Devi yatra was immediately suspended following the disaster. Three relief columns of the Army’s White Knight Corps were pressed into service to aid civil teams in the large-scale rescue and relief effort.
The disaster in Reasi was part of widespread destruction caused by unrelenting downpours across Jammu and Kashmir. Officials said the region witnessed flash floods, multiple landslides and extensive damage to infrastructure. “Bridges collapsed, power poles snapped and telecom towers came down like matchsticks,” a senior government officer said.
Large swathes of the union territory remained without communication after mobile services were knocked out in several districts, leaving millions unable to connect with relatives. The suspension of telecom and electricity compounded the chaos as families struggled for updates on the safety of pilgrims and travelers.
Transportation links were also hit. Traffic was halted on the Jammu-Srinagar and Kishtwar-Doda national highways, while dozens of smaller hill roads were either blocked or washed away by floodwaters. Railway authorities cancelled several trains to and from Jammu, further isolating the region.
As rescue operations continued late into Wednesday, officials cautioned that the toll could rise further. “Our teams are working round the clock, but the weather and terrain are making it extremely difficult,” an officer at the site remarked.
