10 soldiers killed in two Kashmir avalanches, four missing

At least 10 soldiers were killed and four others were still missing after two avalanches hit an army post and a patrol in Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora district, officials said on Thursday.

According to police officials in Bandipora, seven soldiers were rescued from the debris of the avalanches in the Gurez sector of the Line of Control (LoC), bodies of 10 soldiers were found while four others were still missing.

"Rescue operation is on to trace the missing soldiers," a police officer said.

Earlier, the army in a statement said it lost six soldiers in the two avalanches in Gurez that occurred on Wednesday and Thursday.

"Rescue operations were immediately launched in extreme bad weather amid heavy snowfall," the statement added.

A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and six soldiers were rescued after avalanches hit their post on Wednesday, while bodies of three soldiers were retrieved on Thursday morning, it said.

An army officer was killed and four soldiers were injured on Wednesday in that avalanche which hit the army post in Sonamarg in Ganderbal district.

--IANS

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