Avalanches, shooting stones kill 14 in J&K

JAMMU/SRINAGAR: Relief and rescue teams on Friday recovered seven bodies from a police post that was buried under an avalanche near Jawahar Tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar highway even as heavy snowfall and landslides claimed seven more lives in the state.

The dead include five policemen and two detainees who had taken shelter inside the police post when the avalanche struck on Thursday evening. “Seven bodies have been recovered while two have been rescued,” said Anantnag additional deputy commissioner Anantnag Showkat Ahmad Rather. “The rescue teams are still on job as we suspect another person is in there. The rescue operations were hampered by bad weather,” he added.

Widespread rains and snow lashed Jammu and Kashmir since Wednesday blocking the Srinagar-Jammu national highway and disrupting the air traffic.

Three more persons died in two separate incidents of snow avalanches in Kokernag area of Anantnag since Thursday, Rather said. While a husband and wife lost their lives when an avalanche hit their home in Kokernag, their two children were rescued. “On Friday, two men had gone into a forest area in Kokernag to fetch firewood when an avalanche struck and he was buried under snow. His body has been recovered,” said Rather. Two persons, including an employee of accountants general office in Srinagar came under shooting stones on the national highway at Ramban.

The road maintenance agencies while removing the debris from the landslide site found bodies of Sanjit Lakra of West Bengal and Pramod Mankotia of Himachal Pradesh, said Ramban deputy commissioner Aijaz Ahmad. The bodies of Sanjit, a labourer, and Pramod, assistant accounts officer at the AG office, were found at Battery Chashma and Maroog.

A 12-year-old boy was buried alive in an avalanche in Chatroo area of Kishtwar district, said officials. The body of Karan Singh has been recovered.

Tirath Ram, 55, drowned while trying o cross a gushing stream in Udhampur district.