Lucky escape for 5 Odias stranded near Amarnath

Bhubaneswar: Five Odias who were stranded near Amarnath shrine in Jammu and Kashmir due to the flashflood triggered by a cloudburst, reached Jammu safely on Sunday. The pilgrims from Rayagada district said they escaped from the jaws of death.
Basanta Senapati, Soumyaranjan Patra, Nihar Ranjan Patra, Rabi Kumar and Tukuna Pradhan from Rayagada district had left for Amarnath Yatra on July 1 and reached the base camp on July 6. Two days later they visited the shrine and paid obeisance to the god.
“After the darshan, we were taking rest inside a tent near the cave. Some time later, water started flooding the tent. We ran to save our lives, leaving behind our shoes and bags with cash and other items. We reached higher ground and looking down saw water every where. Our tents got swept away along with the others,” said Senapati over phone from Jammu.
He said the security personnel told them to leave the place immediately and return to Panchtarni, a resting place.
“We cut open plastic bottles and stuffed some clothes into them to make makeshift shoes. We trekked for around 16km and reached Panchtarni at around 3am on Saturday,” he added. From there they travelled by foot to Baltal.
Senapati said they had posted a video seeking help from the Odisha government. “Our district collector got in touch with us and arranged for bus tickets and other facilities to return to Jammu. We will leave for Delhi on Monday,” he said.
Swadha Dev Singh, Rayagada district collector, said they are in touch with the five and are providing them with all possible help.