No trace of missing Norwegian woman skier in Kashmir yet

Srinagar, Jan 14 (UNI) Success still eludes rescue teams to find a Norwegian woman skier, who is missing since January 8 in snowbound Gulmarg heights in Jammu and Kashmir.

The rescue teams from the Army, High Altitude Warfare School, police and tourism were still searching the entire belt to locate Francesca Rongne from Norway without any success, official sources said.

They said helicopters pressed into service also could not find her because of bad weather.

Besides snow storm and avalanches in the area, there was also a threat of wild animals, who had come down from the upper forests because of 10 feet to 16 feet snow, the sources added.

''We are still confident that she will return back safely,'' the officials said.

Three officials of the Delhi-based Norway embassy, who arrived here on January 12, have also joined the rescue operation.

They checked the hotel room in which she had stayed before leaving for skiing grounds in the Gulmarg heights and took away all her belongings, the sources said.

This is for the second time that Francesca Rongne went missing in Gulmarg during the past two years. Last year she returned after taking shelter in a snow cave for several days following snow storm.

The sources said she checked in a hotel on January 8 at 1430 hrs but left after 15 minutes for skiing. When she did not return to the hotel, the hotel management lodged a missing report in the police station at Gulmarg on January 9.

UNI BAS MS KP1716