Avalanche buries 6 ITBP men in barracks

The first avalanche struck an empty Indian Reserve Police post on the right of the tunnel, towards the Qazigund side, around 2.30 this morning. The second one hit an ITBP base camp around 5.15 am, where a number of jawans were sleeping, eye-witnesses said.

The Border Roads Organisation pressed two bulldozers into service and recovered four bodies and rescued five injured ITBP personnel. However, another avalanche hit the area around 6.30 am and held up rescue operations.

Till evening, the rescue teams could retrieve only two more bodies, including one of a J-K police constable. The injured were flown to the Army base in Srinagar for treatment.

The Army has sent its special Avalanche Rescue Team and tracker dogs from the High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg to continue rescue operations.

The Jawahar tunnel, considered to be the life-line of the Valley, was completely snowed down from the Qazigund side. According to ITBP officials, it will take at least two days to reopen the tunnel for traffic.

Over 3,000 people were stranded along the highway, which was reopened after two days on Sunday, following fresh snowfall in the afternoon. Many people were stranded on the Rajouri-Poonch road as well. Sources said, though the road between the border districts was reopened this afternoon, vehicles were not allowed to ply after sun set.

DIG (Udhampur-Doda range) Satvir Gupta said they have accommodated the stranded passengers in roadside shelters, schools and even Army units at Batote, Ramban and Banihal. All the passengers stranded at Shaitanu Nullah have been evacuated to safer places, he added.

The state continued to shiver under severe cold wave conditions, as fresh snowfall and rains lashed various parts till late this evening.

There was 3-ft snow at Patnitop, the highest point along the highway in Jammu region. Heavy snowfall was reported from Batote and Banihal too. No flights could operate between Jammu and Srinagar due to the weather.