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14 Army jawans killed in J&K snowslides
Soldiers caught unawares at a workshop in Gurez
Ehsan Fazili/TNS

Srinagar, February 23
At least 14 soldiers (16 according to PTI) were killed and heavy damage was caused to infrastructure in two separate snow avalanches in the upper reaches of Bandipore and Ganderbal districts of Kashmir following snowfall and rains during the past couple of days.

The avalanches hit Dawar in Gurez area of Bandipore district late last night and Sonmarg area of Ganderbal district yesterday evening.

A Defence spokesman told The Tribune that an avalanche hit an Army field workshop near 109 Army Brigade at Dawar in the Gurez area of Bandipore district at around 10.30 p.m. yesterday. The bodies of 11 Army personnel had been recovered. While 13 Army men had been rescued, five were still trapped in the mounds of snow.

Aamir Ali, coordinator of the Divisional Disaster Management Authority, Kashmir, said the avalanche damaged around 25 Army vehicles and 17 barracks inside the brigade workshop. Coordinated rescue operations were launched by the Army, police and civil authorities. No civilian casualty has been reported.

In addition to the Army, snow clearance machine of Mechanical Engineering Department was pressed into service. Machinery from Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) was also requisitioned. Rescue operations were still in progress. There were reports of the snowfall continuing in the area.

In other avalanche, three Army men - a JCO and two jawans - were killed in the upper reaches of Sonmarg, about 100 km from here in Ganderbal district on the Srinagar-Leh axis. The bodies were recovered in the morning and airlifted by Army helicopters to Gund near Kangan. Nearly a dozen hutments have also been damaged as a result of the avalanche.

Two employees of Sonmarg Development Authority are reportedly missing after a group of three employees set out from Sonmarg to Ganderbal yesterday. One of the employees - Bashir Ahmad - reached Ganderbal

while two others - Syed Akbar Shah and Mohammad Rafiq - were untraced due the bad weather conditions. One of them made a telephone call to convey that they had taken shelter under Shitkari Bridge near Sonmarg and were not in a position to move ahead due to adverse weather.

Medium Danger Avalanche warning has again been extended for the next 24 hours for higher reaches of Gulmarg, Naugam, Kaiyan, Keran, Chowkibal, Tangdhar, Gurez and Sonmarg areas. People staying in the areas above 8,000 feet have been advised not to venture out in the avalanche-prone slopes.