Ganderbal, July 12, KNT: A pilgrim from Punjab’s Ludhiana city went missing under tragic circumstances near Z-Morh during a night trek, prompting a massive multi-agency rescue operation in the rugged glacier zone of central Kashmir.
The deceased, identified as Surinder Pal Arora, son of Gain Chand Arora, was part of a group of seven yatris trekking down from Burimarg to Railpathri around 12:30 AM. According to officials, Arora suddenly began exhibiting signs of high-altitude sickness, which triggered erratic behaviour. He reportedly started running aimlessly, took repeated cold water showers, and eventually leapt over a railing near Z-Morh, vanishing into a nearby glacier.
Upon receiving the alert, police teams, along with Mountain Rescue Teams (MRTs) from SDRF, NDRF, JKAP, CRPF, Village Guards, and other support agencies launched an intensive and coordinated search operation to trace the missing yatri.
Authorities also deployed drone surveillance to aid in the search efforts across the treacherous and icy terrain. As of the time of filing this report, the search to retrieve the pilgrim’s body was still underway. [KNT]
