Over 21,000 pilgrims visit Amarnath shrine on third day of pilgrimage

Over 21,000 pilgrims had darshan of the naturally formed ice Shivling inside the Amarnath shrine on the third day of the annual pilgrimage, officials said.

A total of 21,109 pilgrims paid obeisance at the 3,800-metre high holy cave shrine on the Himalayas in south Kashmir on Saturday, they said.

The pilgrims included 16,159 males, 3,921 females, 226 children, 250 sadhus, 29 sadhvis, three transgenders and 521 security forces, the officials said. 

The total number of pilgrims who visited the cave shrine in the first three days of the 38-day yatra has risen to 47,972, they added.  Meanwhile, at least six Amarnath pilgrims suffered minor injuries in an accident involving three buses in Ramban district on Saturday.

The buses were part of a convoy headed for Pahalgam base camp in south Kashmir from Jammu's Bhagwati Nagar.

The accident took place near Chanderkoot, along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, officials said.

According to the officials, accident occurred due to failure of the brakes of one of the buses which then hit two other vehicles. The injured were immediately given medical aid.  The convoy left for its destination after the damaged buses were replaced, officials said.