By IANS
Srinagar : At least 15 people, including seven army personnel and eight porters, were believed to have buried alive after a fierce avalanche hit an Indian Army post near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri sector of north Kashmir Wednesday.
A senior police officer said a massive rescue operation was launched immediately after the avalanche buried the Rajput Tekri post of the 9 Maratha unit of the army, near Bejihama village, 100 km from here in Baramulla district.
“So far, bodies of two persons have been recovered during the massive rescue operation that is continuing. There was one JCO, six soldiers and eight porters who were inside the post at the time the avalanche struck,” a senior police officer told IANS by phone from Baramulla town.
The police said the continued snowfall in the area was hampering the rescue effort.
Two army soldiers were killed late Tuesday after an avalanche hit their camp in the Machil sector of Kupwara district.
The bodies of the two soldiers were recovered this morning.
Life in north Kashmir areas bordering Pakistan has been badly hit following heavy snowfall in the past three days. Authorities have put all the district administrations on high alert to meet any eventuality as the Met Office here forecast more snow in the next 48 hours.