NEW DELHI: Two women pilgrims died while a girl sustained severe injuries in a landslide on the new track leading to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu-Kashmir’s Reasi district on Monday.
Officials said that the landslide struck near Panchi, around 3km from Bhawan at around 2.35pm. A portion of an overhead iron structure was also damaged in the incident, officials said.
The victims were en route to the shrine when they were trapped beneath the iron structure as a result of the landslide, the officials added.
Deputy commissioner Vishesh Paul Mahajan, citing preliminary reports, confirmed that two women had died, and a girl was critically injured in the incident.
Senior police and civil administration officers quickly rushed to the scene, and further details are awaited, Mahajan said.
He is currently on his way to Katra, the base camp for pilgrims visiting the shrine atop the Trikuta hills.
Following the landslide, a rescue operation was launched immediately, and the movement of pilgrims on the track was suspended.
This incident comes nearly a year after a tragic stampede at the shrine on New Year’s Day in 2022, which left 12 pilgrims dead and 16 others injured.
(With agency inputs)