3 J&K cops buried in avalanche rescued

A COUPLE WAS KILLED WHILE THEIR TWO CHILDREN WERE RESCUED AFTER AN AVALANCHE DESTROYED THEIR HOME IN ANANTNAG DISTRICT

SRINAGAR: As four persons were killed in Jammu and Kashmir, three policemen trapped inside their post under an avalanche near Jawahar Tunnel on Srinagar-jammu National Highway were rescued, officials said. Efforts were on to rescue the seven others still feared to be trapped there.

Authorities had put the number at six policemen, two Fire and Emergency Services personnel and two prisoners who had gone missing when the police post was hit.

The rescue team working near the Jawahar Tunnel has sought helicopter support to augment its efforts.

Bodies of two persons killed in Ramsoo-ramban sector of the Jammu-srinagar highway were also recovered earlier in the day. They have been identified as Sanjit Lakra of West Bengal and Pramod Mankotia of Himachal Pradesh, police sources said. A couple was killed while their two children were rescued after an avalanche destroyed their home in Kokernag area of Anantnag district late on Thursday.

Authorities have shifted 78 families from avalanche-prone areas of Waltangoo Nar and Kund in Kulgam district to safer places. Seven families were shifted to the Khag police station after an avalanche hit their village in central Badgam district. Twenty other families were shifted to safer places from Ganderbal.

Hundreds of people were stranded in Jammu as the Jammu-srinagar highway was shut for the third consecutive day after multiple avalanches and landslides hit various stretches of the 300-km long road.

Multiple avalanches occurred at many other places in Kashmir, however, due to lack of communication and connectivity the extent of casualties or damage, if any, was not yet clear. Water supply in areas where electricity is needed to operate drinking water plants was adversely affected.

Roads in Srinagar and those connecting different district headquarters have remained partially closed since Thursday. Availability of essential commodities including food items and petroleum products has been hit by continued closure of the strategic Janmu-srinagar highway through which all essentials supplies are routed into the landlocked valley.