Snowfall kills Army Major, five others in Jammu and Kashmir

JAMMU: Six people, including four family members and an army major, died due to heavy snowfall and avalanches in Gurez and Sonamarg areas of north Kashmir.

Four family members in Badoo Aab village of Gurez, 140 km awayfrom Srinagar in north Kashmir, died when their house collapsed due to heavy snowfall on wee hours of Wednesday. The deceased were identified as Habibullah Lone, 50, his wide Azizi, 48 and their children, Gulshan, 19 and Irfan 17. Only one member, Riyaz, 19 was rescued and is being treated.

J&K chief minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed grief over the death caused due to snow avalanches and house collapse incidents across the state. J&K police also rescued around 150 people in Gurez area . “Their house collapsed due to heavy snowfall.

Around six feet of snow has accumulated in the area, which has remained cut off from the district headquarter Bandipora since November,” Masarat Hashim, Assistant Commissioner Bandipora, told ET.

According to Srinagar-based defense spokesperson, one Army Major Amit Sagar of 115 Bn Territorial Army died in the avalanche while all others were rescued from the spot. In a separate incident, in Kupwara district, one person died while he was clearing snow from rooftop.