«Travel Health 11 Indian soldiers killed in Kashmir avalancheNews about: India
SRINAGAR, India, Feb 8, 2010 (AFP) - Eleven Indian soldiers were killed Monday in an avalanche that struck a mountain area in Kashmir where they were carrying out high-altitude warfare training, the army said Monday.
Army spokesman Jagmohan Brar said the avalanche hit a party of 70 soldiers in the Khelenmarg mountains, close to Gulmarg, the region's main ski tourist destination. "One officer and 10 soldiers were killed and three are still missing, while the rest have been accounted for by rescue teams," Brar said.
The soldiers were from the Indian army's High Altitude Warfare School, which houses around 450 soldiers. The facility was not struck by the avalanche. The military said rescue operations were under way to find the missing. "The details emerging from the area are very sketchy," Brar said.
Heavy snowfall was hampering rescue efforts and making communications difficult. "We are struggling to reach the area, the snow and high winds are making rescue operations very tough," Kashmir tourism official Ghulam Mohammed Dar, who was part of the rescue operation, told AFP. Gulmarg lies 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Srinagar, the Kashmiri summer capital.
Source: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Date: 08-Feb-2010 12:13:06 |
