4 jawans die in avalanches, toll rises to 14

Srinagar: With four more bodies recovered from under debris on Friday at Gurez in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipore district, the death toll from Wednesday’s twin avalanches in the area rose to 14.

Among the dead Army officers and soldiers in Gurez, three were from Maharashtra, two each from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

A camp of the Army’s 51 Rashtriya Rifles at Manzgund in Gurez was struck by an avalanche on Wednesday, killing three people.

At around the same time, a foot patrol of the Army came under a huge avalanche in neighbouring Neeru area, killing eleven people.

Kashmir received heavy snowfall in the past week, disrupting normal life in many parts and shutting down the 294-km Srinagar-Jammu highway. However, with the weather improving on Friday, air traffic resumed partially after remaining suspended for three days.

Dozens of residential houses have been damaged and, at places, J&K police and civilian volunteers rescued scores of families trapped in the areas overwhelmed by snow or in view of the apprehension of avalanches. The authorities have renewed avalanche warning for higher reaches of the Valley’s six out of ten districts besides Kargil district of Ladakh , advising people not to venture into these areas.

Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia confirmed that the bodies of four missing soldiers were recovered from the avalanche-hit Gurez sector on Friday, taking the death toll in two incidents which came in quick succession to 14.

A camp of the Army’s 51 Rashtriya Rifles at Manzgund in Gurez was struck by an avalanche on Wednesday, killing three people, and at around same time, a foot patrol of the Army came under a huge avalanche in neighbouring Neeru area, killing eleven.  Ten bodies were recovered by rescuers from the scenes of occurrence on Thursday and four more on Friday.

Col. Kalia said that the Gurez areas witnessed occurrence of “severe avalanches” on Wednesday evening in which the Army “has lost fourteen of its valiant soldiers”. He added, “We pray for the gallant departed souls who braved all odds with exemplary commitment and dedication to duty and made the supreme sacrifice in the service of the motherland”.

He said that after being hit by a huge avalanche, three shelters of the Army camp at Manzgund were buried under the snow trapping soldiers. “Swift action by a few soldiers at the post and timely help of the villagers of Manzgund ensured saving of six soldiers.  Unfortunately, three soldiers could not be saved whose bodies were retrieved on January 26   by the Avalanche Rescue Teams that were rushed to the post,” he said.

The defence spokesman also said that around the same time, an Army patrol comprising one Junior Commissioned Officer and ten other ranks was caught in a massive avalanche near Neeru in Gurez valley and all the eleven men were trapped under snow. “Concerted efforts of the specially equipped Avalanche Rescue Teams which have continued despite the inhospitable terrain and weather conditions and further avalanche warnings, have led to recovery of mortal remains of all our comrades who were part of this patrol,” he said in a statement here.

The Army said that arrangements were being made to take the bodies of the victims to their respective native places. However, they said, this would be possible only after weather conditions have improved.

Meanwhile, a local resident identified as Fatah Muhammad Mughal was killed when a snow avalanche hit Gawas, Lachipora village of Uri area of Baramulla district, also close to the LoC. The police said that Mughal was trying to repair water supply line to his house when the avalanche coming down from a hill swept him away. He was rescued by locals but died of died of injuries suffered in the incidents soon.

Earlier, an Army officer Major Amit Sagar was killed and five civilians including four members of a family died in similar incidents in the Valley on Wednesday. Three more people including an 11-year-old girl have been killed in house collapses and other weather-related incidents since Wednesday, officials said. Major Sagar died on the spot and half a dozen soldiers were injured trapped following an avalanche struck a 115 Territorial Army camp in Sonamarg area, about 100-km north of Srinagar, on Wednesday. On the same day, an avalanche had struck at Badugam in Tulail area of Gurez and buried the house of Habibullah Lone. The house collapsed under the debris of the avalanche resulting in death of 55-year-old Lone, his wife Azizi (50), 22-year-old son Irfan and daughter Gulshan (19). Lone’s another son, Reyaz Ahmad, was rescued by the authorities and admitted to a hospital.

A 40-year-old man Ali Muhammad Nadaf was electrocuted to death at his home in Rahipora village of Palhallan area of north-western Baramulla district on Thursday. In a separate incident, an 11-year-old girl Aamina Javed died after a live power transmission wire fell on her in Plan area of northern Bandipore district. At Kralpora in frontier Kupwara, a house collapsed trapping two persons under the debris for more than forty minutes. One of them Abdul Gani Ganai who was earlier seen by neighbours clearing snow from its roof was found dead under the debris by the rescuers, the officials said.

The police said about forty residential houses and other structures have been damaged in the impact of heavy snowfalls across the Valley. The worst affected districts are Bandipore, Kupwara, Baramulla, Budgam, Ganderbal and Kulgam. Following incessant rains and scattered spells of snowfall, the 110-km Batote-Kishtwar highway (NH1B) has also been closed, cutting twin districts of Doda and Kishtwar of Chenab valley from rest of the State, officials said.

Kashmir’s divisional administration on Friday issued a high danger avalanche warning valid from January 27 to January 28 for hilly and avalanche prone areas in the division (Kashmir Valley and Ladakh) “High danger avalanche warning valid for next 24-hours from January 27 to January 28 exists for avalanche prone slopes in Kupwara, Bandipora, Baramulla, Ganderbal, Kulgam and Budgam, and Kargil districts of Kashmir division,” a statement issued by it said. The DC of the Valley’s all ten districts and Leh and Kargil districts of Ladakh have been asked to take precautionary measures in their respective districts and “advise people not to venture in avalanche prone areas and to keep clearing snow depositions from roof tops of their houses and bunkers to avoid damages”.

Meanwhile, the State Assembly on Friday paid tributes to the Army men and civilians killed in snow avalanches in Gurez and other areas of Kashmir during past few days. As soon as the House, currently in its budget session in winter capital Jammu, assembled, Speaker Kavinder Gupta informed the members about the tragic incidents. After paying homage to the victims, the Speaker asked the members to observe two minutes silence as a mark of respect for the departed souls.