13 armymen dead, scores missing as avalanche sweeps away 350 men in J&K

SRINAGAR: As many as 13 army personnel, including an officer, were killed and 15 seriously injured when a group of about 350 men were swept away by a snow avalanche. They were setting up a winter warfare camp at Khilanmarg, 70 kms from here.

An army spokesman, Colonel J S Brar, said scores more were still missing and rescuers were searching for them in deep snow. Seventy personnel have been rescued, he said.

The dead included an officer, Lt Prateek, and twelve other ranks from the Army's prestigious High Altitude Warfare School, he said.

Some of those seriously injured are in a critical condition in a hospital in the scenic tourist spot of Gulmarg.