J&K: Five soldiers trapped under snow in Kupwara district rescued alive, says Army

Army soldiers at rescue work in Gurez sector where an incident of severe avalanche took place on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)

At least five soldiers, who were earlier trapped under heavy snow after an Army post caved in Kashmir’s Kupwara district, were rescued alive on Saturday, reported PTI quoting Army officials. The incident took place, two days after 14 soldiers were killed in twin avalanches that hit an Army post and a patrol party in the remote Gurez sector of north Kashmir. Rescue operation was underway with the continuous snowfall and bad weather making search operations difficult.

Local authorities had earlier issued a high danger avalanche warning for the hilly areas of Kashmir valley for the next 24 hours, urging locals to keep clearing snow deposits from roof tops of their houses and bunkers to avoid any damage. Power and communication lines are also down in some areas.

With inputs from agencies