Jammu And Kashmir police official on Friday said in an unfortunate incident, 3 jawans of 56 RR achieved martyrdom in the line of duty in Machhil, Kupwara area when they came under an avalanche.
All the bodies have been retrieved after a search operation, he added.
The avalanche struck at a link petrol of 12 Java which is heading to the forward location 1-2 km before Line of Control (LoC). According to reports, 2 avalanches took place at 2.30 am in the morning on Friday. One jawan died due to hypothermia and the other two succumbed to the avalanche trap.
"A snow slide struck a patrol party in Machhal Sector. 2 soldiers stuck in snow were rescued and evacuated to Military Hospital Kupwara. Another soldier part of patrol, developed hypothermia and was evacuated to Military hospital. All 3 couldn't survive," said PRO Defense Srinagar.
Parts of Himalayan regions are prone to avalanches. A sudden strike of an avalanche does not give chance to escape that is why it is considered a deadly natural calamity.
In October, 27 mountaineers lost their lives as they were hit by a deadly avalanche in Uttarakhand.
According to the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM), a group of 29 mountaineers including 27 trainees and two instructors who were part of an advanced training course at the institute went missing when the avalanche struck at a height of 17,000 feet on October 4 while they were returning from the summit.
