Landslides, avalanches kill 3 as fresh snowfall hits Indian-controlled Kashmir

Three people were killed by landslides and avalanches triggered by fresh spell of rains and snowfall in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Monday.

"Two people including a 17-year-old girl was killed by landslides that hit two places in Poonch district last evening," a police officer said. "Another man was today (Monday) killed in Dooru of Anantnag district after a snow avalanche hit him."

On Sunday, a four-year-old girl was killed and her mother injured after their house was hit by a landslide in Pulwama.

Meanwhile, snowfall in upper reaches and plains on Monday affected air and surface traffic to Indian-controlled Kashmir, thereby disrupting normal life, officials said.

The snowfall began in the morning following incessant rains and was going on until evening in all colder places of Indian- controlled Kashmir, including Srinagar city, the summer capital.

Officials at Srinagar airport said air traffic got disrupted due to poor visibility and continuous snowfall. "The weather was not conducive for landing and take off of the scheduled flights," an airport official said. "If weather remains feasible and runway is cleared on time, flights would operate as per schedule on Tuesday."

The cancellation of flights has affected many passengers.

Reports pouring in from various districts like Shopian, Kulgam, etc said accumulation of snow on roads has affected the inter- district transport.

Authorities also stopped the local train service in wake of accumulation of snow on the track.

Accumulation of snow at Jawahar tunnel has led to closure of 294 km Srinagar-Jammu highway, the only road link connecting Muslim majority areas of the region to winter capital - Jammu and Indian states.

"The continuous rain and snowfall triggered landslides at Nasri, Gagroo, Magarkot and Kheeri areas which forced us to stop all vehicular traffic on the highway," said a traffic department official. "Once the weather improves, our first priority will be to clear the stranded vehicles first."

According to officials, around 2,000 vehicles remained stranded on Srinagar -Jammu road.

The authorities in wake of fresh snowfall have issued avalanche warning for people inhabiting upper reaches and areas close to the line-of-control (LoC).People in the snowbound areas were urged to take precautions and not to venture on steep slopes during the next 24 hours.

Sonum Lotus, a senior Meteorological department official, said an improvement in weather is expected by Tuesday afternoon.

Kashmir has a rugged terrain. Landslides and avalanches are often triggered from its mountains during frequent rains and heavy snowfall the region receives. Endi