Amarnath cloudburst: Indian Army inducts hand-held thermal imagers to look for survivors. Watch
PremiumThe rescuers are also using sniffer dogs and other sophisticated devices to check for any sign of life under the mounds of debris
On Friday night, an incident of cloudburst took place in the Amarnath cave in Jammu and Kashmir. Visuals emerged where one can see that several tensts were getting washed away by the strong current of water. Witnesses to the incident said the cloudburst hit the cave area at around 5.30 pm after heavy rains.
As per reports at least 16 people have lost their lives in the disaster. Nearly 15,000 stranded pilgrims have been moved to the lower base camp of Panjtarni. Officials have said that about 40 people are still missing after the massive flash flood swept away hundreds.
On Sunday, the Amarnath Yatra was suspended from Jammu due to inclement weather conditions and no fresh batch was allowed to proceed from here to the base camps of the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha on Sunday visited a base camp in Pahalgam and met pilgrims.
"The security personnel and administration have carried out an efficient rescue operation. We pay condolences to those who lost their lives. Efforts are underway to resume the Yatra along with repairing the path. Pilgrims should come, we will provide them with all facilities," Sinha assured.
Meanwhile the Indian Army, that has been deployed to recue people from the Amarnath cave shared a video where they are seen using Xaver 4000 radar to look for survivors.
Watch the video here
What is Xaver 4000 radar
The Xaver 4000 radar is a powerful wall imaging system that has 20 range detection and rapid deployment. It is an advanced cutting-edge equipment for locating people hidden behind different types of barriers.
the device is usually used in emergency situations by security services, lifeguards, police, antiterrorists, soldiers, special operation groups in case of dangerous situations.
Looking for survivors
Hopes of finding those missing in the Amarnath flash floods alive are fading by the hour even as the rescuers are making last-ditch efforts to look for any survivor and the Army has pressed heavy machinery into service to restore the track to the holy cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said on Sunday.
"The rescue operations are going on as personnel from various agencies are clearing the debris in the hope of finding any survivor," a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) official said.
The Indian army has inducted sniffer dogs, hand-held thermal imagers and other sophisticated devices to check for any sign of life under the mounds of debris.
Restoration process
Meanwhile, the Army has pressed heavy machinery into service in order to restore the route to the cave shrine at the earliest.
"Army engineers are working round the clock to clear the debris and restore the route to the holy cave," the official said.
Army jawans are supplementing the efforts of JCB excavators in clearing the route to the cave housing a naturally formed ice-lingam.
What is a cloud burst
A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation in a short period of time, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder, which is capable of creating flood conditions. Cloudbursts can quickly dump large amounts of water, e.g. 25 mm of precipitation corresponds to 25,000 metric tons per square kilometre.