First death in minus 6.4 degrees coldest night in Srinagar

Srinagar Feb 1 (UNI) The Kashmir valley recorded first death due to cold after witnessing the coldest night with mercury dipping to minus 6.4 degrees Celsius, 4.4 degrees below normal.

Official sources said a beggar died due to cold at Kathidarwaza in the down town city early this morning.

The body was taken away by police for identification, they added.

This was the first death due to cold in the valley. However, more than 20 people, including soldiers, a woman skier from Norwegian and porters were killed after they were buried alive under avalanches in different parts of the valley during the past two months. Bodies of soldiers, porters and skier were yet to be recovered because of heavy snowfall.

A weather office spokesman said night remained cold and day a bit warm due to clear sky.

He said the minimum temperature was minus 6.4 degrees this morning which was 4.4 degrees below normal, freezing tapes and some water bodies partially. However, they defreezes as the day progressed.

It was the coldest night in February, he said, adding last year the minimum temperature recorded on the first day of the month was minus 1.6 which was 0.4 degrees below normal.

Pahalgam, the base camp of Amarnath cave and most attractive tourist destination in south Kashmir, remained cold after the minimum was recorded minus 15.4.

There was also no let-up in the cold in Leh, Kargil and Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia. The night temperature in Kupwara and other upper reaches remained below freezing point.

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