Himachal avalanche: Third trooper's body found; 3 still missing

After 12 days of hectic search operations, rescuers on Monday managed to trace the body of a third trooper, officials said.

Three of the troopers struck by the avalanche are still missing.

Six troopers of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles were buried under an avalanche that struck on February 20 near the Tibet border in the the state's Kinnaur district.

The third trooper whose body was recovered has been identified as Govind Bahadur Chhetri, who hailed from West Bengal.

Officials said about 500 personnel have been deployed to search for the troopers.

A lot of fresh snow had accumulated at the avalanche site, 350 km from the state capital, and fresh snow has made trekking to the area a risky proposition.

Many mountaineers from the area are also involved in the search operations where specially-trained rescue dogs, rock drills and chain saws have been deployed.

The state government said that two separate parties of the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were patrolling Namgia Dogri when the avalanche hit.

Five ITBP troopers were also injured in the disaster.

The Western Command Chief of Staff Lt Gen P.M. Bali visited the site of the avalanche and has assured that all-out efforts are underway to find the missing army men.

--IANS

vg/oeb/bc