One pilgrim from Andhra Pradesh was confirmed dead and another still missing in the Amarnath cloudburst tragedy, while all others from the state were reported safe. Himanshu Kaushik, Additional Resident Commissioner of AP Bhavan in New Delhi, who has been camping in Srinagar coordinating the search and rescue operations, told PTI over phone that the body of Gunisetty Sudha of Rajamahendravaram was found on Monday, July 11. Her husband has identified the deceased, he said, adding efforts were on to shift the body to Rajamahendravaram.
Another woman, Kotha Parvati of Rajamahendravaram, still remained untraced and search for her was continuing, he added. Himanshu Kaushik said the group of 11 pilgrims from Nellore that remained missing for the last three days was finally traced. "All of them are safe. Even the other groups of pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh are safe. They are at various places now," he added. While some pilgrims decided to continue their tour of Jammu and Kashmir, some others have started back to their hometowns.
The efforts of the first responders ensured that the number of deaths in the cloudburst incident was "limited", a senior IAF officer said on Monday. Flash floods triggered by heavy rain struck near the shrine on July 8, leaving at least 16 people dead and more than 30 missing. "Basically, due to the initial efforts which people put in on the first day, the fatality rate and the number of casualties were really limited," Air Commodore Pankaj Mittal told reporters.
Asked about the scale of the rescue and relief operations, he said, "As compared to a lot of operations we have seen (earlier), this was a bit on a smaller scale". Air Commodore Mittal said a major part of the rescue and relief operations was over and the area should be good enough to be opened for normal activities in the next two days. "Major effort (of rescue and relief operation) has already gone through and they have already cleared the opening of the yatra again. I think in a day or two, we will be able to clear the area for anything else," he added. The Indian Air Force (IAF) officer said weather was the biggest challenge in the rescue and relief operations in the aftermath of the incident.