The 11th batch of over 6,000 Amarnath pilgrims left the Jammu city on Saturday for the twin base camps in Kashmir even as the annual pilgrimage to the cave shine in south Kashmir was halted because of the flash floods triggered by heavy rainfall that killed at least 16 people. The 43-day Yatra began on June 30 from the twin routes -- the traditional 48-km from Nunwan in Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag, and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district of central Kashmir.

However, the pilgrimage has been suspended after the flash flood near the cave shrine on Friday evening swept away scores of people, swamping tents and community kitchens with mud and rocks hurtling down a hillside.