4 more bodies found, J&K avalanche toll touches 21
NATURE’S FURY Army spokesperson says search operation has ended as all soldiers stuck under heavy snow following the avalanche in Gurez sector of Bandipora have been traced
SRINAGAR: Bodies of the four more soldiers who went missing after avalanches struck an army camp andpatrolinGurezareaofJammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district have been recovered, taking the death toll to 14. The overall toll has now reached 21 in the Valley.
Army spokesman Rajesh Kalia saidthesearchoperationhadbeen stopped.“Werecoveredfourmore bodies which were part of the army patrol. Every soldier has been accounted for,” he said.
A series of avalanches struck armyinstallationsandresidential houses in Bandipora on Wednesday after Kashmir valley received record snowfall in a decade in the month of January.
The avalanches swept away an army camp of 51 Rashtriya Rifles taking the lives of three soldiers. A JCO(juniorcommissionedofficer) andsixsoldierswererescuedfrom the camp.
Another avalanche struck an army patrol in the same region from which seven bodies were recovered on Thursday. Four membersofafamilywerekilledin the district after their house collapsed due to heavy snowfall.
In a separate avalanche in Ganderbaldistrict,anarmymajoralso lost his life on Wednesday.
Kashmir has been witnessing one of the severest winters since 2006 and 1992, with heavy snow across the territory and temperature dropping to minus 7 degrees Celsius. But conditions are expectedtoimprovefromJanuary 27, said director meteorological centre, Sonam Lotus.
Police said heavy snow damaged 13 houses, three shops and a shrine in Budgam and Ganderbal districts. About 150 people were evacuated on Wednesday from avalanche-prone Khadiyall and Ismarg villages of Gurez.
Since the beginning of heavy snowfall on Tuesday, at least seven civilians have died in the Valley including four members of family in Bandipora. With his leave sanctioned, soldier Devendra Soni was waiting for a replacement to arrive so he could proceed for home when an avalanche struck his Army camp in J&K and claimed his life.
Now the family of the 24-yearold Soni, attached to 51 units of National Rifles, awaits his mortal remains which are expected to arrive Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.
“I was informed by the National Rifles headquarters about Devendra’s martyrdom yesterday (Thursday) evening. His mortal remains would be brought tomorrow (Friday) to Jabalpur and then to Shahdol,” Devendra’s father Vijay Soni said. Soni was among the 14 soldiers who were killed after avalanches struck their post on Wednesday in Gurez sector of Kashmir.
The dead soldier’s father recalls that he had tried to talk to him on January 20 but failed to get through due to inclement weather.
“I tried to call him on January 20 as his leave was sanctioned. But, he could not be contacted due to bad weather,” he said.