Kinnaur Kailash Yatra suspended, 413 devotees rescued after cloudburst triggers flash flood in Himachal

The Kinnaur Kailash Yatra in Himachal Pradesh has been suspended, and nearly 413 stranded devotees were rescued and evacuated in a nine-hour operation after a cloudburst triggered a flash flood that washed away a large part of the trekking path, including makeshift bridges at Tanglippi and Kangarang.

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The pilgrims currently on the route have been safely sheltered at Milling Khata and Gufa, and all necessary arrangements have been made for their safety.

Most of the trekking paths have either become dangerously slippery or have been hit by landslides, posing a serious threat to the safety of pilgrims. In view of these adverse conditions, the Kinnaur Kailash Yatra is being temporarily suspended until further notice, stated an official order. Sources said that the rescue operation, which started last night, successfully rescued all pilgrims who were trapped on different sides of the mountain and were unable to cross the river. The devotees were rescued using the rope-based traverse crossing technique. In this method, the pilgrims were attached to ropes and safely brought to the other side of the river, then shifted to safer locations.