Vaishno Devi Landslide Tragedy: Death Toll Rises to 34, Questions Raised Over Safety Lapses

The death toll in the tragic landslide near the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine has climbed to 34, with at least 18 others injured. The disaster struck on Tuesday afternoon near Ardhkunwari in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district, after relentless rainfall triggered a collapse along the pilgrimage route.

The landslide, which occurred around 3 PM, brought boulders, rocks, and debris crashing down on a protection shed midway through the 12-km trek from Katra to the hilltop shrine. The popular pilgrimage was immediately suspended as rescue operations began.

“It was like a loud thunderclap or a bomb blast from above,” recalled Ramesh Singh, a *palkiwalla* (palanquin carrier) who was near the site when the landslide hit. “The upper shed collapsed first, and then the second one, just seconds later. Everything happened so fast.”

Ramesh, who was injured, said there were around 35–40 people in the shed at the time. “There was water everywhere. Some pilgrims were above, some below. I had three boys with me—two of them managed to pull four people out before more soil came crashing down.”

Among the victims were at least five children and eight women. The deceased included pilgrims from Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh.

The shrine can be accessed via two routes—Himkoti and the older track. Authorities had suspended the Himkoti route earlier in the day due to heavy rain, but the older path remained open until 1:30 PM, just an hour and a half before the landslide occurred.

In the aftermath, questions are being raised over the decision to allow the yatra to continue despite severe weather warnings. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed concern over the apparent lack of precaution.

“We knew about the weather. Why weren’t the pilgrims stopped or moved to safety?” he asked. “We need to talk about this. Couldn’t steps have been taken earlier to save these lives?”

Adding to the crisis, Jammu recorded a staggering 380 mm of rainfall in just 24 hours—the highest in over a century since recordkeeping began in 1910. The previous record was 270.4 mm in 1988.

Rescue operations are ongoing, and officials continue to monitor the area for further risk of landslides.