Army officials on Thursday said that 11 soldiers had died after two avalanches struck their camps in Jammu and Kashmir’s Gurez Valley region on Wednesday, NDTV reported. An Army officer and four civilians were reported dead after snowslides hit the Gurez area of Ganderbal and Bandipora districts in Kashmir.
A junior commissioned officer and six other jawans were rescued after the avalanches hit their posts, the Army said in a statement, according to Greater Kashmir. “Braving inhospitable weather conditions, coordinated rescue operations are in progress, in which three bodies could be recovered so far,” the statement added.
The bodies of the army personnel have been recovered, but many more soldiers are feared missing. Although rescue operations are underway, inclement weather and heavy snowfall have posed a problem to recue teams.
Authorities have issued an avalanche alert in Anantnag, Bandipora, Baramulla and many other regions of the Valley. Districts like Kullu, Lahaul and Spiti, Kangra and Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh are also under the threat of bad weather.
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