Avalanche kills four Indian soldiers in Kashmir

Published April 5, 2015
Vehicles drive between walls of snow after the Srinagar-Leh highway is opened for traffic in Zojila, 108 km (67 miles) east of Srinagar, April 15, 2008. The 443 km (275 miles) long highway was opened by Indian army authorities for traffic on Tuesday after remaining snowbound at Zojila Pass, 3,530 metres (11,581 feet) above sea level, for the past six months. The pass connects Kashmir with the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region, a famous destination among foreign tourists for its monasteries, landscapes and mountains.
Vehicles drive between walls of snow after the Srinagar-Leh highway is opened for traffic in Zojila, 108 km (67 miles) east of Srinagar, April 15, 2008. The 443 km (275 miles) long highway was opened by Indian army authorities for traffic on Tuesday after remaining snowbound at Zojila Pass, 3,530 metres (11,581 feet) above sea level, for the past six months. The pass connects Kashmir with the Buddhist-dominated Ladakh region, a famous destination among foreign tourists for its monasteries, landscapes and mountains.

SRINAGAR: Four soldiers were killed in India-held Kashmir after their vehicle was buried in an avalanche in the Himalayan region, an official said on Saturday.

Army troops recovered the bodies of three soldiers killed in the avalanche, which struck Chang La village in Leh district late on Friday, district official Swagat Biswas said.

Rescue workers were digging through snow drifts on Saturday to find the body of a fourth soldier also feared killed in the avalanche, he said.

No other details were immediately available.

Leh is about 435km east of Srinagar. Avalanches and landslides are common in the disputed Himalayan region.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2015

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