Srinagar: Six people including four members of a family and an Army officer were killed on Wednesday as avalanches swept across several areas in Kashmir valley. Several others were also injured. The scenic Valley and neighbouring areas are receiving heavy snowfall for the past few days disrupting normal life.
Several roads including the vital Srinagar-Jammu highway have been shut. Power supply to many areas has been snapped too. The authorities have issued avalanche warning for higher reaches of the state, askin people not to venture into these areas.
Major Amit Sagar was killed and a few soldiers were injured after a camp of the 115 Battalion of Territorial Army was swept away by an avalanche in Sonamarg, 100 km north of Srinagar, on Wednesday morning, the police and the Army said.
Defence spokesman Colonel Rajesh Kalia said other soldiers earlier reported missing following the incident have been rescued. “None of them received major injury and no one is missing,” he said.
Reacting to earlier reports that five soldiers were killed and an equal number of others wounded when swept by the avalanche, he said, “I wonder where from they got this information.”
Earlier, four members of a family died as an avalanche buried their house in Gurez near the Line of Control in Bandipore district.
