BJP's Raja Singh and his family escape cloudburst chaos at Amaranath cave

In the Amarnath chaos that claimed the lives of at least 16 people, one family made a timely escape - that of Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh.

A cloudburst near the holy shrine triggered flash floods and put pilgrims in danger, with 40 people still missing. Singh and his family made a miraculous exit, using ponies.

"We sensed that weather suddenly changed and getting deteriorated. In those circumstances chopper service would also be cancelled. So we decided to descend the hills using ponies. I could see cloudburst about one kilometer down the hills. Several tents swept away in the floods," Raja Singh told media on Friday.


Singh descended the hills on a steed and was then transported to Srinagar by the Indian Army, due to the security cover afforded to him as a member of the legislature. According to the MLA, there were thousands of devotees at the Amaranth cave for darshan on the day.

"Water was gushing through the hills and swept way some tents. My estimation is that at least 50 people were swept away in the flashflood. Army was doing a great job at Amarnath cave. But, they were helpless in these kinds of circumstances and also it was dark," he added.

The Amarnath yatra has been suspended following the calamity, just over a week after it began. Rescue operations are underway.