Avalanche kills Indian trooper in Indian-controlled Kashmir

An Indian military trooper was killed and another rescued in injured condition after being hit by an avalanche in Indian-controlled Kashmir, officials said Sunday.

The avalanche occurred in frontier Kargil district of Ladakh division and buried two troopers on surveillance duty on Wednesday night.

The avalanche, according to a military spokesman, was triggered by a mild earthquake.

"Rescue teams of the army on the third day of a gruelling search operation, managed to recover the mortal remains of Sepoy Vijay Kumar K from under snow," the military spokesman said. "The search operation continued for three days despite adverse weather conditions and up to fifteen feet of snow in the area of avalanche."

The trooper who was rescued in the injured condition on the first day was stated to be stable but under medical supervision.

Indian military pressed in rescue dogs, deep penetration radars and metal detectors to locate the missing troopers, officials said.

The region is experiencing bad weather conditions for the past several days. Upper reaches have received a heavy snowfall, while rains lashed the plains, triggering landslides and resulting in closure of a road link connecting the region to other areas.

Last month 10 Indian troopers were buried under an avalanche on Siachen Glacier near Line of Control (LoC) in Indian-controlled Kashmir. It took several days for the military to retrieve their bodies. Endit