US tourist dies during his stay in Dal Lake houseboat

A tourist from the USA died on Wednesday while he was staying in a houseboat in the world-famous Dal Lake in Kashmir.

Police said 83-year-old John David Anderson was rushed to a nearby private hospital after he complained of uneasiness in the chest.

Doctors at the local hospital said he was dead on arrival. Anderson was staying in the houseboat with his wife, Judith Anne McCarthy.

Police have taken cognisance of the incident and started proceedings to ascertain the exact cause of Anderson’s death.

Houseboats are traditionally designed or modified boats used as permanent or temporary dwellings, famously operating as luxury tourist accommodations in Kashmir's Dal/Nigeen Lakes and Kerala's backwaters.

These floating homes offer unique, stationary, or cruising stays featuring wood-panelled rooms, modern amenities, and local cuisine, often serviced by personal chefs and caretakers.

As the summer heat picks up in the plains, tourists, both domestic and foreign, have started arriving in Kashmir in good numbers.

Tourism had suffered a severe blow after April 22 last year when Pakistan-backed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists killed 26 innocent civilians, including 25 tourists and a local Pony owner in Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam.

India retaliated to the Pahalgam terror attack by Operation Sindoor, during which terror infrastructure deep inside Pakistan at Muridke near Lahore, Bahawalpur and Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) was destroyed.

J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah worked tirelessly to revive tourism in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. Omar held a cabinet meeting in Pahalgam and also went on a cycle ride through Pahalgam town with his two sons to instil confidence in tourists.

Omar Abdullah, with teams of officials belonging to the tourism department and civilians connected with tourism, visited some metropolitan cities in the country to interact with leaders of the industry so that tourists return to the Valley.

Tourists responded positively by coming back to Kashmir, expressing faith in the goodwill and hospitality of the local people.