1 killed, 7 missing after avalanches hit vehicles in Kashmir

[Hindustani78]

1 killed, 7 missing after avalanches hit vehicles in Kashmir

Srinagar, January 06, 2018 01:08 IST
Updated: January 06, 2018 01:08 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...-in-kashmir/article22379663.ece?homepage=true

A Beacon officer was killed and seven persons were missing as two avalanches hit vehicles on the Kupwara-Tangdar road in north Kashmir’s Kupwara on Friday. The Beacon officer died after snow avalanche swept his vehicle off the road at the Sadhna Top. Another Beacon personnel remained untraced. The deceased has been identified as M.P. Singh. In another avalanche on the same route, a vehicle carrying eight passengers was pushed off the road.

The driver, Zahoor Ahmad Khan, and a boy, Nanna, survived the accident, said an official. Both have been shifted to a hospital. However, six passengers are still missing, said the district official.

“We are trying our best to rescue the missing even as fresh snowfall has started in the area and is hampering the operation,” the Senior Superintendent of Police, Kupwara, told reporters.

Officials said two rescue teams comprising the Army, police and State Disaster Response Force were on the job to locate the missing people.

Amir Ali, who works with the State disaster management cell, said,“They [missing people] came under an avalanche at Khoni Nalla, near Sadhna Top en route to Karnah. Seven persons are still missing.”

Minister for Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Javaid Mustafa Mir directed that proper medical aid be provided to the two injured persons.

The Minister said movement of traffic should be restricted on vulnerable roads in the event of adverse weather predictions.

 

[Hindustani78]

Six bodies recovered from avalanche site in J-K

Srinagar, January 06, 2018 14:10 IST
Updated: January 06, 2018 14:16 IST

http://www.thehindu.com/news/nation...site-in-j-k/article22382924.ece?homepage=true

Six bodies have been recovered from a spot in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district where a passenger vehicle was hit by a huge avalanche of snow, an official said today.

A passenger vehicle was hit by a huge avalanche of snow at Khooni Nallah near Sadhna Top on the Kupwara-Tangdhar road yesterday.

“Five bodies were recovered today from the avalanche site,” deputy commissioner Kupwara Khalid Jehangir told PTI.

The body of a Beacon officer was recovered last night after the rescue operations were launched, he said.

Three people have been pulled out alive from the avalanche site, he said, adding that the rescue operations are underway.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india...k-s-kupwara/story-TjAiNFUggq4VSV01rYUlKN.html


Hindustan Times, Srinagar

Photo shows snowfall in Sonamarg, 89 km from Srinagar. An avalanche struck Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district, killing six people.(AFP file / Representative photo)
An engineer of the Border Roads Organisation and five other people died after an avalanche in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir.
india Updated: Jan 06, 2018 13:01 IST

Six people, including an engineer of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), were killed as an avalanche hit north Kashmir’s Kupwara district on Friday evening, officials said on Saturday.

Junior engineer MP Singh of Project Beacon of BRO was on duty on a road in the upper reaches when he was swept down by the avalanche which also hit a passenger vehicle in Sadhna Pass area, officials said.

“One body was recovered last night (Friday) while five others were recovered today (Saturday). Three people have been saved. A 45-year-old passenger was pulled out of the snow in the early hours of the morning, while a child and the driver of the vehicle were rescued soon after the accident last evening,” Kupwara deputy commissioner Khalid Jahangir told Hindustan Times.

The rescued passenger, identified as Ghulam Nabi Bhat, is undergoing treatment at a local hospital and his condition is said to be stable. The rescued child is seven years old, officials added.

Since December 21, Kashmir has been experiencing a harsh winter marked by frequent snowfall. On Friday, there was snowfall in the upper reaches while the entire valley shivered under sub-zero temperatures.

On Saturday, Srinagar recorded a minimum of minus 1.2 degrees Celsius while the ski resort of Gulmarg shivered at minus 9.4 degrees. Leh recorded a low of 16.6 degrees.