Five pilgrims injured as glacier collapses in Kullu

Five pilgrims were injured as a glacier broke off and collapsed on way to the Shrikhand Mahadev shrine in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu district, the police said Wednesday.

The 'yatra' to the shrine has been temporarily stopped.Considered tougher than the Amarnath pilgrimage, the ten-day Shrikhand Mahadev yatra had begun on July 15.

A number of pilgrims were stranded as the glacier collapsed at Nain Sarovar near Parvati Bagh in Ani sub division on Tuesday at around 4.30 pm, police said.

Rescue operation was started soon after the glacier broke off, they said, adding about 50 other stranded pilgrims were rescued from the glacier point and brought towards Bhim Dwar.

The five injured pilgrims have been identified as Rajiv from Ludhiana, Vivek from Pune, Baba from Maharashtra, Subhash Patel from Pune (Maharashtra) and Divyangni Vyas from Ahmedabad, they added.

They have been administered first aid.

Movement of pilgrims towards the shrine has been temporarily stopped due to collapse of the glacier at Nain Sarovar and landslides at various points due to rains, they added.

Shrikhand Mahadev is revered by Hindus as one of the abodes of Lord Shiva. The Shivalingam is situated at a height of 18,750 feet above sea level in the lap of the Himalayas.

A base camp for registering pilgrims has been set up at Sinhgad.