As many as 30 pilgrims died in Vaishno Devi landslide, PM Modi expresses grief

New Delhi: As many as 30 pilgrims have lost their lives after heavy rains triggered massive landslides near the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi district of Jammu region.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah who flew to Jammu to take stock of the flood situation, confirmed the toll.

“Around 29 to 30 people have died..,” he told reporters in Jammu.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi while expressing grief at the tragedy, said the administration is assisting all those affected.

"The loss of lives due to a landslide on the route to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is saddening. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest. The administration is assisting all those affected. My prayers for everyone's safety and well-being," Prime Minister Modi said on X.

The loss of lives due to a landslide on the route to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Temple is saddening. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest. The administration is assisting all those affected. My prayers for everyone's safety and…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 27, 2025

In one of the worst tragedies on the pilgrimage route to the Vaishno Devi shrine in Reasi where a massive landslide struck near Adhkuwari on the 12-km Trikuta hills track around 3 pm on Tuesday. Officials said the Himkoti track had already been closed in the morning as a precaution, while the old route remained open until 1:30 pm before being shut for safety.

Officials said 30 bodies have been recovered from the debris.

Rescue operations are still underway in the affected areas with teams of the Army, NDRF, and police engaged in clearing debris and evacuating stranded pilgrims.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah while expressing grief at the loss of lives in the tragedy asked why safety measures were not taken despite advance weather warnings.

“When we were informed about the weather, could we not have taken more steps to save those precious lives? We had received a warning a few days ago. Why were people still on the track? Why were they not stopped or kept in a safe place?”,” Omar asked.

“We will have to talk about this later. But for now, I am sorry that about 29–30 people lost their precious lives,” Omar told reporters in Jammu.

The Chief Minister said several districts in the Jammu region have suffered extensive damage due to incessant rains and flash floods, particularly in the lower areas.

“The situation in some districts has been very bad, especially in the lower areas of Jammu, Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar and the Chenab belt,” Omar said. He said parts of upper Rajouri remained largely unaffected, but in other places “there was as much damage as possible.”

In Doda district, four more people died on Tuesday in rain-related incidents.

During the past 24 hours Jammu recorded 380 mm rainfall, the highest ever recorded in Jammu in a 24-hour period since 1910 when the Weather Observatory was established. The last record was 270.4 mm on September 25, 1988. This has also broken the record of 218.4 mm recorded on 23 August 1996. The rain since Monday battered Jammu triggering flash floods, landslides, and overflowing rivers.

Meanwhile, in a swift and daring operation Indian Army Aviation evacuated 22 CRPF personnel along with 3 civilians who had been stranded near Madhopur Headworks (Punjab) since yesterday.

At 6 AM today Army Aviation helicopters were launched to carry out the rescue despite challenging conditions.

"All stranded individuals were safely evacuated and brought to safety," the Army said.

"In a turn of events that underscores the urgency of the operation, the building where they had been sheltering collapsed shortly after their evacuation, highlighting the timeliness and precision of the rescue," they added.