Avalanche kills 17 soldiers
Source: Agencies |
February 9, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AT least 17 Indian soldiers were killed when an avalanche smashed into a military training camp near the country's disputed border with Pakistan yesterday, security officials said.
Police said 17 soldiers were in a critical condition.
The avalanche hit the Indian army's High Altitude Warfare School in northwest Kashmir, a rugged area at an altitude of 2,730 meters near a military line that divides the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan.
Army spokesman Colonel Vineet Sood said more than 80 soldiers had been rescued. "We have called off search and rescue operations as no one is missing or trapped," he said.
The avalanche occurred in the Khilanmarg area near Gulmarg, a ski resort visited by thousands of people, including some foreigners, every winter.
Officials said there was little chance of any tourist having been trapped as the avalanche was triggered at an altitude higher than the popular skiing slopes.
The government weather forecaster said snow and sleet would continue to hit the Kashmir mountains for the next two days. They have issued a fresh avalanche warning in Indian-held Kashmir where avalanches occur frequently.
Thousands of Indian soldiers are deployed along the military line, or Line of Control, to guard a disputed border and prevent militant incursions into the Indian side from Pakistani Kashmir.
Troops are fighting a 20-year-old anti-India insurgency in Kashmir where tens of thousands of people have been killed since 1989.
Heavy snow blocked the Indian-held Kashmir's highway, the only road link to the rest of the country.
Police said 17 soldiers were in a critical condition.
The avalanche hit the Indian army's High Altitude Warfare School in northwest Kashmir, a rugged area at an altitude of 2,730 meters near a military line that divides the Himalayan region between India and Pakistan.
Army spokesman Colonel Vineet Sood said more than 80 soldiers had been rescued. "We have called off search and rescue operations as no one is missing or trapped," he said.
The avalanche occurred in the Khilanmarg area near Gulmarg, a ski resort visited by thousands of people, including some foreigners, every winter.
Officials said there was little chance of any tourist having been trapped as the avalanche was triggered at an altitude higher than the popular skiing slopes.
The government weather forecaster said snow and sleet would continue to hit the Kashmir mountains for the next two days. They have issued a fresh avalanche warning in Indian-held Kashmir where avalanches occur frequently.
Thousands of Indian soldiers are deployed along the military line, or Line of Control, to guard a disputed border and prevent militant incursions into the Indian side from Pakistani Kashmir.
Troops are fighting a 20-year-old anti-India insurgency in Kashmir where tens of thousands of people have been killed since 1989.
Heavy snow blocked the Indian-held Kashmir's highway, the only road link to the rest of the country.
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