PM Modi condoles loss of lives in Vaishno Devi landslide, toll hits 32

Expressing grief at the loss of lives in the Vaishno Devi landslide tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the administration is assisting all those affected in the incident.

He said on X, "The loss of lives due to a landslide on the route to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is saddening. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest. The administration is assisting all those affected. My prayers for everyone's safety and well-being."

The death toll in the Vaishno Devi landslide has gone up to 32, officials said on Wednesday, a day after disaster struck the route on the hilltop shrine in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district.

At least 20 people were injured in the landslide triggered by heavy, relentless rain, the officials said.

The pilgrimage to the shrine was suspended when the mountainside literally gave way and stones, boulders and rocks came hurtling down around 3 pm on Tuesday, catching people unawares.

The landslide struck at a point about halfway along the winding 12-km trek from Katra to the shrine.

There are two routes up to the shrine -- while the yatra had been suspended on the Himkoti trek route since morning, it was going on on the old route till 1.30 pm when authorities decided to suspend it till further orders in view of the torrential rain.  An IAF C-130 transport aircraft carrying relief and rescue material reached Jammu on Wednesday to provide aid to people affected by a landslide along the Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine route near Adhkuwari, sources said.

The C130 transport aircraft carrying NDRF load reached Jammu from the Hindan Air Force station in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, a source said.

Besides, helicopter assets such as Chinook, and Mi-17 V5 are on "active standby" at nearby bases in Jammu, Udhampur, Srinagar and Pathankot, the source said.

The rescue operation is continuing along the Vaishno Devi route near Adhkuwari, where a landslide struck on Tuesday, killing nine pilgrims and injuring 21 others, officials said.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from the low-lying flooded areas, as torrential rain continued in the region for the fourth day on Wednesday, creating havoc in many parts of Jammu and Kashmir.  President Droupadi Murmu said the loss of lives due to a landslide on the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine route in Jammu and Kashmir was extremely distressing and prayed for the success of relief and rescue operations.  "The tragic incident of the death of several devotees in a landslide on the pilgrimage route to the Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is extremely distressing. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray for the success of the relief and rescue operations," Murmu said in a post in Hindi on X.