Srinagar
A group of 10 persons who were in the police post building near the Jawahar Tunnel are buried under a huge avalanche that struck the spot at around 6 pm, police sources said. A rescue is underway as a group of cops and other security personnel are approaching the building from the other end of the tunnel.
Confirming the incident, SSP Kulgam Harmeet Singh said it is sowing massively in Qazigund and they had no options to reach the building.
“The building was being used by all, the police and the fire service personnel,” Singh said. “By 4 pm, we told them to get to the safe place. Almost 10 persons, mostly cops, took refuge in the tunnel and 10 remained in the same building that was hit by the avalanche at 6 pm.”
Those who were in the building included six cops, two personnel from the Fire and Emergency Services and two accused. “They were arrested in a Charas case and were non-locals,” he said. “We believe they are trapped and we are trying to access the building that is under a huge mass of snow.”
Local police, CRPF and SDRF have mounted a joint rescue operation to trace the missing. They are approaching the building after coming from the Banihal end of the tunnel. There is no possibility of approaching the building from the Kashmir side.
Meanwhile, one person was killed while two others were rescued and one more is still trapped after an avalanche struck Sunbradi area of Kokernag in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Thursday evening.
A local news gathering agency said that the avalanche hit a residential house at Sunbradi, resulting in the on spot death of a person whose body was recovered while as two more persons were rescued by the local volunteers and police.
According to reports, one person is still trapped under the snow and efforts are on to retrieve him.
Confirming the incident, Deputy Commissioner Anantnag Mohammad Younis Malik said the avalanche hit the residential house of Bashir Ahmad Qureshi son of Noor Mohammad Qureshi at Sunbradi in which one person died. He said two persons were rescued and have been hospitalised while as one is still missing. The rescue operation is on to find him, he said. The DC identified the deceased as Bashir Ahmad.
Meanwhile, an official said that a rooftop of a mosque was damaged after it collapsed due to snowfall at Khamoh, Rafiabad in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
The official said that at Heewan area of Boniyar, Baramulla, one house of Wahab Najar also got damaged after it collapsed due to snowfall. A cowshed of Haleema Begum at Khas Dajan Boniyar also collapsed and suffered damage, he said.
The official further said that one boat ‘Meenar’ of Mushtaq Raga son of Mohammad Sultan was also damaged after it collapsed at Chinar Bagh in Dalgate, Srinagar.
