Kinnaur avalanche: Another soldier’s body recovered, three still missing

More than 500 personnel of Indian Army, ITBP, Border Roads Organisation, Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment and DRDO have been pressed into service to locate the army men who went missing after an avalanche in Himachal’s Kinnaur district on February 20.

The body of one army jawan, who was among the five soldiers missing for the past 13 days after an avalanche in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, was recovered on Monday.

Operation underway to rescue army jawans trapped in snow after an avalanche hit them in Namgya region of Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh on Feb 20, 2019. (ANI File)

“The body of Govind Bahadur Chhetri of Binaguri in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal was recovered on Monday evening. The mortal remains of the brave soldier are being transported to his home town,” said a said defence spokesman.

More than 500 personnel of Indian Army, Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) and DRDO have been pressed into service to locate the missing army men, he said.

Chhetri and five other jawans of the 7 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles were buried under the avalanche near Namgia Dogri outpost along Sino-India border on February 20. Havildar Rakesh Kumar, who was rescued on the day of the avalanche, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital in Pooh. The body of rifleman Rajesh Rishi, a resident of Solan district, was recovered on March 2. He was cremated at his native place on Sunday.

Those still missing are Naik Videsh Chand, rifleman Arjun Kumar and rifleman Nitin Rana.