Kashmir Avalanche: 4 More Bodies Recovered, Death Toll Touches 14
Heavy snowfall hampered rescue operations, authorities said.
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Bodies of four missing soldiers were recovered from avalanche site in Gurez sector of Kashmir on Friday. With this, the death toll from the avalanches that struck Gurez has touched 14, police said.
President Pranab Mukherjee tweeted out his condolences over the loss of lives.
Several soldiers were reported missing after an avalanche hit an Army camp in the Gurez sector of Bandipora district near the Line of Control.
“Bodies of three soldiers were retrieved on Thursday morning,” an Army official said, adding that seven soldiers, including a Junior Commissioned Officer, were rescued.
He said the exact number of missing soldiers could not be ascertained as heavy snowfall hampered ongoing operations.
The official said another avalanche hit a patrol party which was on its way to a post in Gurez sector.
‘Deeply Saddened by the Death of Jawans’
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minster Manohar Parrikar, on Thursday, expressed condolences at the death of the jawans.
In a tweet, PM Modi said he was “deeply saddened” at the death of jawans.
An officer was killed in an avalanche at Sonamarg in central Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Wednesday, while four members of a family died in the Gurez sector.
Also Read: Armyman Among 5 Killed in Avalanches in Kashmir
Authorities have issued a high danger avalanche warning in hilly parts of snow-bound Kashmir valley in view of fresh snowfall which has been going on intermittently for past three days.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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