Five soldiers who were dug out from under tonnes of snow after several hours following an avalanche at a forward post in Machhil sector in Kupwara district on January 28 succumbed on the way to the Army’s Base Hospital in Srinagar on Monday. It has raised Army men’s toll to 20 in the recent snowfall-related incidents in Kashmir Valley.
Sources said the soldiers, who were unconscious when rescued, were treated for hypothermia i.e. dangerously low body temperature caused by prolonged exposure to extremely cold temperatures. Even though they needed an urgent medical treatment, they could not be immediately airlifted to Srinagar due to inclement weather, sources said. The soldiers got trapped while they were on a patrol around an Army camp and a portion of the path caved in burying the men under thick layers of snow.
Their condition was made worse by the continuous snowfall that added to the weight.
Even though Army rescue teams were immediately rushed in, it took them several hours to retrieve the men.
The soldiers were shifted to the local Army camp for initial treatment as the helicopters could not access the area to airlift them to Srinagar. On Monday, the soldiers were being evacuated to Srinagar but they could not survive.
This is the third major tragedy to hit the Army in Kashmir in a week. Earlier, a Major of the Territorial Army died when an avalanche hit his camp at Sonamarg in Ganderbal district. The officer was deployed at the High Altitude Warfare School. later, 14 soldiers died in two avalanches in Gurez sector of north Kashmir’s Bandipora district.
The mortal remains of the 14 soldiers could not be airlifted from Niroo battalion headquarters in Gurez due to bad weather.
Kashmir Valley has witnessed massive snowfall this week that resulted in the death of 20 soldiers and six civilians including four members of a family. The authorities have issued avalanche warnings, especially in the upper reaches and asked the people to avoid venturing out unnecessarily. Dozens of families have been evacuated from the high-danger zones.
Although one-way traffic resumed on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, several interior roads connecting district headquarters with the far-off areas remained cut-off for the sixth consecutive day.