New Delhi:
At least four soldiers were trapped in two separate incidents of snow avalanches near the Line of Control in north Kashmir, officials said on Wednesday. A snow avalanche hit an Army post in Tangdhar area of Kupwara district on Tuesday afternoon where at least two soldiers were trapped. Search and rescue operations were carried out till late Tuesday evening but had to be suspended due to inclement weather. Rescue operations resumed on Wednesday morning. In another incident, a foot patrol of the Army was hit by an avalanche in Dawar area of Gurez sector of Bandipora district, trapping two soldiers. Efforts were on to rescue the jawans.
On November 30, two Indian Army personnel were killed after an avalanche hit their patrol at an altitude of about 18,000 feet in southern Siachen glacier in the Union Territory of Ladakh , a defence spokesperson said. An Army patrol operating at an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet in Southern Siachen Glacier was hit by an avalanche, Srinagar-based defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said in a statement.
Earlier on November 18, four Indian Army personnel and two civilian porters were killed in an avalanche in the northern part of the Siachen Glacier.
The Siachen Glacier at the height of around 20,000 ft in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds. Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during winters with temperatures often dropping to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.
