At least 10,000 people were assembled at the Amarnath shrine, located at an altitude of 3,900 meters in the Himalayas
Eight people died and several were missing Friday after flash floods triggered by a sudden cloudburst struck a camp near a popular Hindu shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from across the country trek up through Himalayan passes each year to visit the Amarnath shrine, located at an altitude of 3,900 metres (12,800 feet).
At least 10,000 people were assembled near the site when the rains struck, officials said.
Police in Kashmir said eight deaths had been confirmed and that injured pilgrims had been airlifted to hospital.
Around two dozen tents and three large kitchens that serve free food to the pilgrims were washed away in the deluge, an official from the local disaster management agency told AFP.
"Several are missing and a huge rescue operation is underway," the official added.
The pilgrimage to the shrine -- which is dedicated to Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction -- is being held for the first time since 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic..
In 1996, 243 pilgrims died while traveling the arduous, days-long journey to the shrine when snowstorms hit the area.