NEW DELHI: Amarnath Yatra was suspended on Thursday after 36 hours of heavy rain in the valley triggered a landslide that left one pilgrim dead and three injured, officials said.
A two-day weather advisory indicating heavy rainfall across Jammu and Kashmir, including pilgrimage routes, officials added.
Video circulating online showed four pilgrims being swept downhill by a landslide at Railpathri along the Baltal route in Ganderbal district to the Amarnath cave on Wednesday evening.
The injured were taken to the Baltal base camp hospital, where one woman, identified as 55-year-old Sona Bai from Rajasthan, was declared dead on arrival.
Authorities issued an alert predicting additional heavy precipitation across various regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Shri Amarnathji Yatra has been suspended for 17.07.2025 from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps. Continuous heavy rains over the last two days have necessitated restoration work to be carried out on tracks along both routes," Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Vijay Kumar Bhiduri told PTI.
"However, yatris who stayed at Panjtami camp last night are being allowed to proceed down to Baltal with adequate deployment of BRO and Mountain Rescue Teams," he added.
The 38-day annual pilgrimage will conclude on August 9.
This marks the first suspension of the yatra from the Jammu side this year. Since the pilgrimage began on July 3, around 2.47 lakh pilgrims have visited the 3,880-metre-high shrine.
With this, the death toll in this year's Amarnath Yatra has risen to 15.