Army patrol trapped under snow near LoC; 3 rescued
srinagar — An army patrol was trapped under snow on Saturday near the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district. Three out of the five soldiers have been rescued and the search for the remaining was on, police said.
The incident comes just days after two avalanches hit a military post and a patrol along the Line of Control, killing 15.
The RR party was on routine patrol when the mishap occurred, police added.
Kashmir has seen heavy snow this week and authorities had warned of the “high danger” of avalanches. Power and communication lines are also down in some areas.
Officials evacuated dozens of residents from high-risk areas after authorities issued an avalanche warning in many parts of the region.
The soldiers were approaching a border post in Machil, northwest of the main city of Srinagar along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the territory with Pakistan, when the track they were following caved in, Colonel Rajesh Kalia said.
“Rescue operations to retrieve the trapped soldiers is going on,” the army spokesman said.
Another 15 Indian soldiers died when a patrol and two camps were hit by avalanches in the north of the territory on Wednesday.
It took rescuers two days to retrieve their bodies from under tonnes of snow.
Five civilians were also killed this week, including four members of a family when an avalanche ripped through their home as they slept. A lone survivor was rescued.
Dozens of Indian and Pakistani soldiers lose their lives due to avalanches almost every winter along the LoC.
Indian-administered Kashmir has been witnessing one of the most severe winters in recent decades, with heavy snow across the territory and temperatures dropping to -7 degrees Celsius.
Authorities have issued avalanche warnings and advised residents in mountainous areas not to venture out.
Police last week evacuated 80 villagers from Waltengoo Nar in the south of the territory where dozens were killed after a series of avalanches hit the area in 2005. —