Search and rescue operations are under way in response to a landslide near Vaishno Devi Temple in Katra area.At least 30 people have been killed and many more injured after heavy rains triggered a massive landslide in Indian-administered Kashmir, officials and local media report.Search and rescue operations were under way on Wednesday in response to the landslide, which occurred the previous afternoon near the Vaishno Devi shrine, on a popular Hindu pilgrimage route in the Katra area, police and local media said.The landslide was the latest disaster caused by heavy monsoon rains in the Himalayan region that have left hundreds dead and missing in India and Pakistan.Senior Superintendent of Police Paramvir Singh told the Anadolu news agency that at least 30 people had been confirmed dead in Tuesday’s landslide.“Security forces, disaster relief teams and local volunteers have been pressed into service to clear debris and search for survivors,” he said.The pilgrimage to the Vaishno Devi Temple has been halted in the wake of the disaster, the DPA news agency reported.Communications ‘almost nonexistent’Heavy rains have also caused severe damage to infrastructure in the region, sweeping away bridges and roads and flooding homes.Heavy rains have led India to open the gates of large dams on the swollen rivers in its territory, warning Pakistan of potential downstream flooding, news agencies reported. Pakistan began evacuating tens of thousands of people on Tuesday after New Del …
