Himachal Pradesh: Avalanche hits Kinnaur; 6 Army jawans feared dead

Shimla, Feb 20: An avalanche hit Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district in which six Army jawans are feared dead, said reports

It was earlier reported that one Army jawan was killed and five others were trapped. But a latest report says that five are feared dead now.

The body of one of the Army jawans was recovered, but there was no trace of five others, Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Gopal Chand said. The deceased jawan was identified as Rakesh Kumar (41) of Ghumarpur village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh, Kinnaur Superintendent of Police (SP) Sakshi Verma told PTI, adding that the jawans belonged to the 7 JAK Rifles unit of the Army. Kumar's body has been taken to the Poohu civil hospital for autopsy.

ITBP and district police personnel are carrying out the rescue operation.

Earlier this month, an avalanche buried 10 people in Kashmir following two days of heavy snowfall across the region.

Last week, the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) had issued a warning for snow and avalanche in Kullu, Chamba, Lahaul and Spiti, Shimla, Kangra and Kinnaur districts of Himachal Pradesh.

In January, rain and snowfall lashed many parts of north India, with two people getting killed in an avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Jan 18, a massive avalanche hit a high altitude mountain pass in Ladakh killing 10 people. Rescuers took almost a week to retrieve the bodies.