Two more pilgrims, including a resident of Karnataka, died of natural causes en route to the 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas raising the death toll to six since the inception of the pilgrimage on June 29.
An official said Chander Shekhar, 73, a resident of Karnataka, fell unconscious after performing darshan near the cave shrine on Tuesday afternoon. He was rushed to base camp hospital where doctors declared him as brought dead.
Another pilgrim Shiva Kanth Mishra, 59, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, also died after he suffered cardiac arrest while returning from the cave shrine at Brarimarg along the Baltal cave route, he added.
“We hand over the bodies to the relatives in case of death of any pilgrim. Most of the times they perform last rites here only, but if somebody is interested in taking the body back to home for last rites, the Shrine Board authorities help them out,” he said.
Asked what happens to the pilgrims, who come alone without families, in case they die, the official said, “In that case, we inform the families via phone and if somebody is unclaimed, his last rites are performed by the Shrine Board.”
So far six pilgrims have died in as many days of the 40-day long yatra. In the wake of rising number of deaths of pilgrims in the previous years, authorities had asked the health department officials to conduct a thorough health check of yatries before they are allowed for onward journey to the Holy Cave.
“It has been noted in the past that some pilgrims manage health certificates despite suffering from serious ailments and being unfit for high altitude travel. In such cases,” a doctor on Yatra duty said.
The 40-day annual yatra, which commenced from the twin tracks of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district, is scheduled to culminate on 7 August, coinciding with the Raksha Bandhan festival.
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