Emergency workers rescued thousands of pilgrims after flash floods swept through their makeshift camps during an annual Hindu pilgrimage to a Himalayan cave in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing at least 16 people and injuring dozens, officials said, APA reports citing The Guardian.

Authorities suspended the pilgrimage for two days as the sudden rains continued to lash the region. Teams of rescuers from India’s military, paramilitary, and police as well as disaster management officials combed through the slippery mountain tracks and used thermal imaging devices, sniffer dogs, and radars to locate dozens of missing people. Civilian and military helicopters evacuated the injured to hospitals.

Thousands of people were in the mountains when the rains struck. Officials said about 15,000 devotees were moved to safer locations and at least five dozen injured people received first aid at base camp hospitals set up for the pilgrimage, which is undertaken by hundreds of thousands of Hindus from across India.

Source: Azeri-Press News Agency