Jawan Killed in HP Avalanche Cremated, Five Others Still Missing

Heavy snow, rain and sliding of glaciers have hampered the operation to search for 5 army jawans trapped in the snow

The last rites of Army jawan Rakesh Kumar, who was killed in an avalanche near Shipki La.

(Photo: ANI)

The last rites of Army jawan Rakesh Kumar, who was killed in an avalanche near Shipki La on Wednesday, was performed with full military honours in his native village in Himachal Pradesh on Friday, 22 February, even as five others trapped in the snow are still untraceable, a defence spokesperson said.

Six jawans of the Army's 7 JAK Rifles, four from Himachal Pradesh and one each from Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, were buried under the avalanche that occurred near the Shipki La border outpost in Kinnaur district around 11 AM on Wednesday. Havaldar Kumar's body was recovered the same day.

Kumar's mortal remains were consigned to flames in Bilaspur district by his son, Manish.

Thousands of people, including from neighbouring areas, paid their last respects to Kumar at the Ghumarpur village crematorium.

Five Other Jawans Still Missing

The Army issued a statement Friday, that the rescue operation for the five remaining jawans was underway by mountaineers of the Dogra Scouts and specialised equipment like thermal radars were pressed into service.

However, blizzards, high speed winds, fresh snowfall and poor visibility have severely hampered the rescue operation, the defence spokesperson said, adding that a fresh snow slide caused further setback.

A fresh avalanche hit the Tinku Nullah area in Kinnaur district on Friday, district public relations officer Mamta Negi said, adding that no loss of life or property was reported.

Over 200 persons of Army, ITBP, local police and District Disaster Management are deployed in the operation.

Five more jawans of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were also injured in the avalanche. However, they had been rescued, the officials told PTI.

According to Army sources, 16 jawans had gone towards the Shipki La border post from Namagya in order to repair a damaged water supply line when the avalanche struck, burying six of them alive. One of them was rescued, but he succumbed to his injuries subsequently.

An army spokesperson said the search-and-rescue operation would go on till the last man was retrieved.

(With inputs from PTI)