Hopes of finding survivors in Amarnath flash floods fading

Hopes of finding those missing in the Amarnath flash floods alive are fading by the hour even as the rescuers are making last-ditch efforts to look for any survivor and the Army has pressed heavy machinery into service to restore the track to the holy cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said on Sunday.

"The rescue operations are going on as personnel from various agencies are clearing the debris in the hope of finding any survivor," a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) official said.

He said most of the debris clearance is being done at the areas pointed at by sniffer dogs.

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"We are still hopeful but anyone still alive under that debris will be a miracle," the official said.

He said there has been no breakthrough as far as finding the survivors or even recovering a new body is concerned.

Besides sniffer dogs, the rescuers are also using hand-held thermal imagers and other sophisticated devices to check for any sign of life under the mounds of debris.

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Meanwhile, the Army has pressed heavy machinery into service in order to restore the route to the cave shrine at the earliest.

"Army engineers are working round the clock to clear the debris and restore the route to the holy cave," the official said.

Army jawans are supplementing the efforts of JCB excavators in clearing the route to the cave housing a naturally formed ice-lingam.

The official, however, added that inclement weather can play spoilsport in the restoration efforts.