SRINAGAR: Five Indian soldiers were trapped under dense snow in Kashmir on Saturday just days after another 20 people lost their lives due to avalanches in the disputed territory, an army spokesman said.
Colonel Rajesh Kalia said that the soldiers were headed towards a border post in Machil, northwest of the main city of Srinagar along the Line of Control (LoC) that divides the territory with Pakistan, when the track they were following made way for hefty amounts of snow.
“Rescue operations to retrieve the trapped soldiers are underway” the military spokesman had said.
An additional 15 soldiers lost their lives when a patrol and two camps were hit by avalanche’s in the north of the territory, that is also claimed by Pakistan, on Wednesday.
It took rescuers two days to drag their bodies from under huge amounts of snow.
Five civilians were also killed this week, including four members of a family when an avalanche slit through their home as they slept. A lone survivor was rescued.
Dozens of Indian and Pakistani soldiers lose their lives to avalanches almost every winter along the LoC.
Indian-administered Kashmir has been witnessing one of the most severe winter in recent decades, with heavy snow across the territory and temperatures dropping to minus seven degrees Celsius (19 degrees Fahrenheit).
Authorities had issued various avalanche warnings and asked residents in mountainous areas to remain indoors.
