The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday said strong winds and accumulation of snow were hampering efforts to rescue the personnel trapped in an avalanche that hit a police post near Jawahar Tunnel in Kulgam district the previous day.
Three people have been rescued from the site, Greater Kashmir reported. One of them is believed to be in a critical condition, ANI reported.
“Rescue teams are trying their best to reach the site,” police tweeted on Friday morning. “Strong wind and accumulation of snow on the path are making it difficult albeit the teams are nearby the site.”
An unidentified police official told PTI that all efforts were being made to evacuate the trapped police personnel.
An avalanche hit the north entrance of the Jawahar Tunnel on the Qazigund side in Kulgam district on Thursday evening. Ten policemen posted at the police post managed to escape, but 10 were trapped, according to PTI.
The state received heavy snowfall and the Valley was cut off from the rest of the country for the second day on Thursday. An avalanche hit a house in Sanbradi Magam village in Kokernag area of southern Anantnag district on Thursday evening, killing one person, Greater Kashmir reported. Bashir Ahmed Qureshi died in the disaster, while his wife was trapped in the house, the police said. Two other family members were rescued.
Anantnag Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Younis Malik said late on Thursday that rescue operations were still on.
The strategic Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, which connects the region to the rest of India, remained closed after fresh snowfall in Bannihal sector and landslides in Ramsoo-Ramban on Thursday. Flight operations were disrupted at the Srinagar Airport. All flights were cancelled for the day. Most roads remained inaccessible and completely snowed under.
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