By IANS
Srinagar : Forty people were trapped when an avalanche buried four houses in Jammu and Kashmir as the weather continued to wreak havoc in the valley with at least 11 people being killed due to heavy snowfall in the last four days.
Though two people managed to come out alive, the rest have been trapped since the avalanche Thursday evening buried four houses in Gujjar Basti village near Lower Manda in Anantnag district.
“A massive rescue operation has been started to save the trapped villagers,” a senior official told IANS.
Eleven persons have so far died during the last four days in incidents of house collapses and avalanches across the valley.
Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, whose official plane was the first to fly into the snow bound valley Thursday, has instructed Consumer Affairs Minister Taj Mohiuddin to remain stationed in the valley to supervise relief and rescue operations.
The valley continues to be blocked with the Jammu-Srinagar highway closed for the fifth day Friday and flights suspended for the fourth day.
Free food centres have been set up by the state administration for stranded passengers in the winter capital Jammu.
The administration has also made arrangements for the stranded passengers to fly free to Srinagar in civil and air force planes once the weather improves here.
People living in higher reaches and foothill villages have been asked to avoid unnecessary movements in these areas as the risk of avalanches remains very high.
The weather office held out little hope.
T.K. Jotshi, assistant director of the local weather office, told IANS: “This has been the heaviest February snowfall in the valley during the last five years.
“Same weather conditions are expected to continue during the next 24 hours.”