Three soldiers killed as avalanche hits army post in Kashmir

Mangalore Today News Network

Srinagar, Feb 02, 2018 : Three soldiers were killed and another injured after an avalanche hit an army post near the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil sector of North Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Friday.

 

Reports said the avalanche struck an army post of 21 Rajput around 4:30 pm at Sona Pandi Gali in Machil sector in which four soldiers went missing. "A search operation was started immediately and all the four soldiers trapped under snow were evacuated," an army official said.

However, one died on the spot and two others succumbed while being shifted to 92 Base Hospital Badamibagh, he said. The deceased soldiers have been identified as Havaldar Kamlesh Kumar, Naik Balbeer, and Sepoy Rajinder while Sepoy Bipin is said to be stable.

The Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment had warned of avalanches in higher reaches of the Valley after a 6.2 magnitude earthquake struck Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Last month, 11 people, including a BEACON officer, died when multiple avalanches struck three vehicles near Sadhna Top in Kupwara.

Earlier, in December last year, five army personnel died after avalanches, triggered by heavy snowfall, struck two forward posts in Gurez and Nowgam sectors of north Kashmir’s Bandipora and Kupwara districts respectively.

Last January in a series of four avalanches 24 people, including 20 soldiers and four civilians had died. Almost every winter, dozens of Indian and Pakistani soldiers are killed by avalanches along the LoC.

In 2012, a massive avalanche in the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir killed 140 people, including 129 soldiers.



courtesy:DHNS