A man and a woman from Pune in Maharashtra died during the Amarnath pilgrimage, district officials said on Saturday and added that no pilgrim from the city is missing in the flash flood tragedy as of now.
While the cause of the death of one of the deceased, Pradip Kharade, is identified as cardiac arrest, officials are not sure about the cause of the death of Sunita Bhosale.
However, NCP leader Rupali Chakankar claimed that Bhosale died in a landslide triggered by heavy rain near the Amarnath cave shrine.
The deceased duo was part of two different groups from Pune who had gone to the Amarnath pilgrimage.
"Sunita Bhosale was part of a group of 55 pilgrims. She died during the Amarnath pilgrimage," the district administration said.
Another deceased, Pradip Kharade, a resident of Pimpri, was part of a group of 200 pilgrims visiting Amarnath.
Two groups comprising over 255 pilgrims from Pune had gone to Amarnath through two different tours and travel companies.
"No one is missing from Pune as of today (in the Amarnath flash flood). As per our communication with two different tour operators, 200 pilgrims had gone to Amarnath through a travel company and all of them are safe and currently at the base camp. They will leave for Maharashtra on July 10," said a senior official.
He said Kharade died of a cardiac arrest on Saturday morning.
The official said Bhosale was part of a group of 55 pilgrims who had gone to Amarnath through another travel company.
"Bhosale died during the pilgrimage," he said, adding that of the 55 pilgrims, 34 are currently at the Amarnath base camp. 20 other pilgrims of this group have been traced. They have reached the base camp at Baltal," he added.
However, Maharashtra Women's Commission president Rupali Chakankar cited Bhosale's kin in Pune to claim that she died in the landslide near the Amarnath cave.
"They said three members of the Bhosale family - Mahesh Bhosale, Sunita Bhosale and Prema Shinde- had been on Amarnath yatra. Unfortunately, Sunita Bhosale died due to the landslide caused by a cloudburst," she tweeted.
Chakankar and the Bhosales are residents of the Dhayri area in Pune city.
