BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pilgrims die of cold in Kashmir

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Monday, 12 March 2007, 18:08 GMT

Pilgrims die of cold in Kashmir

Five pilgrims travelling to a Hindu shrine in Indian-administered Kashmir have died from severe cold, police say. A senior officer in Udhampur district said a patrol had found the bodies and 10 other people who were unconscious.

They were lying in a shelter designed to protect pilgrims en route to the Vaishno Devi shrine more than 5,000 feet above sea level.

Bad weather has closed the highway between Jammu and Srinagar, leaving hundreds of people stranded.

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