Indian officers form human shield to protect pilgrims from falling rocks


This is the stunning moment Indian police personnel form a human shield to protect pilgrims from falling rocks.

The pilgrims were trekking to Amarnath temple, a sacred shrine for Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir in the remote Himalayas, when a melting glacier started spewing stones on July 4.

An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) team quickly formed a wall of human shield to stop the falling rocks and ensure safe passage to pilgrims.

A video shared by ITBP shows the men stopping the falling stones and risking their personal safety.

ITBP officials said the incident took place on the Baltal route of the pilgrimage.

Pilgrims make an arduous trek of up to 45 km for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage. The rapidly melting Himalayan glaciers have made their trek more challenging.

Scientists say the melting of Himalayan glaciers has drastically accelerated since the turn of the century and the famed mountains have lost more than a quarter of all ice cover over the last four decades.