NEW DELHI: The number of Hindu pilgrims killed in ferocious weather during an annual trek to a holy cave in the Himalayas has risen to 226, officials said on Friday. Police and paramilitary troops continued searching the rugged and mountainous terrain for more pilgrims on Friday, but officials said they doubted they would find more bodies. Last week, strong winds, heavy rain and snowfall lashed a 48 km (30mile) pilgrimage route to the 3,880metre (12,725 feet) high holy Amamath cave, stranding almost 70,000 people in freezing temperatures for three days before help could be sent.
Many of the dead included naked “sadhus” or Hindu holy men who smear their bodies only with ash. India’s Home (Interior) Minister Indrajit Gupta said a further 13 pilgrims who arrived in Kashmir had died of heart attacks and other problems before beginning the trek, putting total deaths from the annual event at 239. “The number of deaths has today gone to 239,” Gupta told lawmakers.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 11, 1996
