3 Soldiers Killed, 1 Missing After Avalanche Strikes Army Post In Jammu And Kashmir's Machil Sector

Three Army soldiers were killed and another was missing after an avalanche hit their post in Machil sector along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, defence sources said. The sources said five soldiers were trapped under the avalanche.

The Army launched rescue operations and traced four of the soldiers. While three of them were declared dead, another was injured and is being treated at a local military facility, the sources said. Efforts are on to trace one missing soldier.

Last week, an Army porter died and three others were rescued after they were struck by an avalanche along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district. The avalanche hit a forward location at Shahpur sector, trapping the porters. Army rescue teams immediately swung into action and managed to pull out the porters from the snow.

Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh experienced moderate to heavy snowfall, while the plains were lashed by rains since Monday.

Authorities in Ladakh had issued a low-danger avalanche warning in various areas and asked people to avoid venturing into the avalanche-prone areas during the next 24 hours.