Two dead as massive avalanche hits upper reaches of Gulmarg in J&K

Jammu/ Kashmir,Feb 1: A t least two people were killed and 21 were trapped after massive avalanche hit the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmir’s ski resort Gulmarg on Wednesday.

Bodies of two Polish tourists have been retrieved from underneath the snow mass, even as four other persons were rescued after a massive avalanche occurred at Affarwat peak in famed ski-resort Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, officials said.

Rescue operations are currently underway in the area.

“A large-scale rescue operation was launched at the site, during which bodies of two persons were retrieved. “Fortunately, we were able to rescue four other persons,” officials told news agency PTI.

Three teams of 21 foreign nationals and two local guides were at the ski slopes in Hapatkhud Kangdori when the avalanche came rolling down around 12.30 pm, police officials said.

The bodies of the two Polish nationals were recovered and moved to hospital for medico-legal procedures. The other 19 people who were trapped in the snowy heights of Afarwat region, famous for its ski slopes and visited by hundreds of tourists every winter, were rescued by teams of the Baramulla district police.

Officials said an avalanche warning had been issued by the administration in various areas of Jammu and Kashmir

The avalanche rolled into a river near a hamlet in Mechail belt, but there was no damage caused as the village was away from area, they said.

-PTI