At least six army personnel were killed and six others were rescued after two fresh avalanches hit an army camp of the 51 Rashtriya Rifles in Bandipora’s Gurez valley, 200 km from Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
Seven soldiers have been rescued so far.
“The Army is working in extreme bad weather and heavy snowfall. The rescue operations were on immediately after the avalanches were reported,” an army spokesperson has said.
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In a similar incident on January 25, five people including an army captain and four civilians were killed in two separate avalanches in the state. The house of Mehraj-ud-Din Lone collapsed under the debris of the avalanche resulting in death of 55-year-old Lone, his wife Azizi (50), 22-year-old son Irfan and daughter Gulshan (19).
“Rescue operations were immediately launched in extreme bad weather amid heavy snowfall,” the statement by Army said.
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The state administration has issued avalanche warning for higher reaches of the Valley following fresh snowfall and advised people to stay away from the mountains and foothills. People have been asked to move to safer places.
At this time of the year, Indian Army braves inhospitable weather conditions in the mountain range of J&K, to guard our frontiers.
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Gurez is a mountainous region with a small valley across the Razdan Pass, the only road connecting with Kashmir Valley at the height of 11,672 feet.
Since first week of January there has been heavy snowfall in the area leading to Gurez valley getting cut off with Kashmir Valley.
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In 2016, four Army personnel were killed after their patrol party was hit by an avalanche at Siachen Glacier on January 3.
Nine soldiers were killed on February 8, 2016, when another avalanche buried a whole camp in Siachen.
