Kupwara avalanche: Death toll rises to 11

The incident took place at Sadhna Top in Tangdhar area of the district around 4 pm.

Eleven people were killed while two are still missing in an avalanche that hit north Kashmir's Kupwara district yesterday. Six bodies have been recovered so far. A one-year-old baby is among those who died after the avalanche hit the vehicle.

Out of the nine people who were reported to have gone missing yesterday, six were in an SUV, while others were on the road. The incident took place at Sadhna Top in Tangdhar area of the district around 4 pm. The missing people were reportedly on their way from Kupwara to Karnah in a Tata Sumo.

A search and rescue operation was launched by teams of police, Army, SDRF and Mountain Rescue.

An official on Friday said that bad weather was hampering search and rescue operation.

Avalanches are becoming frequent in upper reaches of the state with several army outposts too being struck in the past. Last month, three soldiers went missing when an avalanche hit their outpost Gurez - their bodies recovered days later. In a separate incident, two soldiers went down a deep gorge in the Nowgam sector along the LoC. The MeT department has predicted that the cold wave in the state and across most parts of northern India is likely to continue till the end of the week.

OneIndia News