A series of avalanches hit army posts on Siachen glacier in Ladakh killing three army personnel.
“Three army personnel were killed when avalanches struck in two isolated places in Siachen today,’’ said Col J.S. Brar, army spokesman in Srinagar.
According to him, avalanche warnings were out and all necessary precautions were taken.
“When warnings are out there is freeze in movements and no vehicles are out,’’ Brar added.
He said, even if the army has to move for some operational purposes, the soldiers move around with snow protection equipments.
The deaths take the snow toll in the valley to 23. This includes 22 soldiers and one civilian. The most severe avalanche strike was in Kashmir’s Skis town, Gulmarg, on Monday, where 17 soldiers were killed and another 17 injured.
According to the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, an avalanche warning has been issued across the valley and Ladakh till Decemer 14.
The villagers near Jawahar tunnel, 96 km from Srinagar, have been askedto move to safer places. The same area was devastated in snow tsunami in 2005.
Although snowfall and rain abated by Tuesday evening after lashing wide parts of the state since February 5, dozens of families in the high altitude areas in Anantnag, Kupwara and Baramulla have been shifted to safer places as a precautionary measure, official sources said.
{{/usCountry}}Although snowfall and rain abated by Tuesday evening after lashing wide parts of the state since February 5, dozens of families in the high altitude areas in Anantnag, Kupwara and Baramulla have been shifted to safer places as a precautionary measure, official sources said.
{{/usCountry}}They were shifted from avalanche-prone hamlets belonging to Gujjars and Paharis.