Five troopers trapped in snow rescued near LoC in Kashmir

Five Indian troopers, who went missing in snow Saturday were rescued alive by the search teams near Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir, officials said.

The troopers were trapped and lost communication with their base camp after a snowbound track they were walking on caved in at Machil sector of frontier Kupwara district, about 165 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"All the five soldiers were successfully rescued and are presently under treatment," an army official said.

The troopers were part of a routine patrol in the area.

Indian army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia told Xinhua following the incident, rescue teams immediately launched searches to trace trapped troopers.

On Wednesday 15 troopers were killed after avalanches hit them at three different places in Gurez and Sonamarg.

It took two days for army rescue teams to retrieve bodies from the snow mounds in Gurez.

LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India and Pakistan controlled parts.

Kashmir has a rugged terrain. Landslides and avalanches are often triggered from its mountains during frequent rains and heavy snowfal. Endit