Avalanche kills 3 army soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir’s Machhil

The avalanche occurred two days after an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale shook parts of northern India.

Three soldiers were killed in an avalanche that occurred near the line of control in north Kashmir’s frontier district of Kupwara on Friday.

Army personnel patrol the snow-clad a road during heavy snowfall Peer Ki Gali in Poonch in Jammu and Kashmir. Security forces posted in the region have to face dangerous weather conditions every year.(PTI File Photo)

“Three valiant soldiers who were part of a team posted in Machhil sector of Kupwara died,” an Army spokesperson said. A soldier injured in the incident was shifted to a hospital in Srinagar, he added.

The avalanche occurred two days after an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale shook parts of northern India on Wednesday. The government had issued an avalanche warning, besides a level-2 (low danger) warning in Kupwara, soon after the tremors. The warning was valid for 24 hours.

Eleven people, including a two-year-old child, were killed in two separate avalanches in the frontier district on January 5. A skier from Sweden lost his life after an avalanche hit a peak at the Gulmarg ski resort in Baramulla about two weeks later.

Security forces posted in the region have to face dangerous weather conditions every year. As many as 21 people, including 15 soldiers, died in multiple avalanches across the region last January.

Around 62 soldiers posted in Kashmir died in natural calamities between 2007 and 2012, as opposed to 180 killed in the fight against militancy.