Heavy non stop rainfall led to a landslide on the route to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine atop the Trikuta hill on Tuesday (August 26, 2025) afternoon, killing at least five people and injuring 14, officials said. Several people were feared trapped.
The pilgrimage to the famed shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district was suspended when the mountainside literally gave way and stones, boulders and rocks came hurtling down around 3 p.m., catching people unawares.
There are two routes up to the shrine — while the yatra had been suspended on the Himkoti trek route since morning, it was going on on the old route till 1.30 p.m. when authorities decided to suspend it till further orders in view of the torrential rain.
“In an unfortunate incident of landslide at Adhkwari, 5 people have lost their lives and 14 others have been injured. Rescue operations underway,” the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board said in a post on X.
Earlier, the battery car and helicopter services to the cave shrine were stopped, but the yatra had continued through the traditional track until it was suspended altogether.
Incessant rainfall for a third consecutive day also led to the suspension of traffic along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, officials said.
They noted that almost all the rivers and streams are flowing above or close to the danger mark, submerging several low-lying areas and roads in the city.
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi is located in the Trikuta Mountains near Katra in the Reasi district. Devotees traditionally undertake a 13-km trek from Katra to the shrine.
Traffic along the 250-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway was suspended as a precautionary measure after shooting of stones from the hillocks of Chanderkote, Kela Morh and Battery Cheshma in Ramban district.