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Tariq Bhat
Tariq Bhat

JAMMU & KASHMIR

Five army men rescued from avalanche succumb to injuries

soldiers-tribute-pti Soldiers paying gun salute to Major Amit Sagar during his cremation ceremony in New Delhi on Sunday | PTI

Five army men, rescued from an avalanche at Machil sector near the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir, succumbed to their injuries on Monday.

The soldiers of 56 Rashtriya Riffles were on a patrol on Saturday morning when the snow track they were walking on suddenly caved in.

Though the soldiers were rescued by specialized Avalanche Rescue Teams (ARTs) and brought to the army hospital in Machil, they needed specialised treatment that is available in at army’s 92-base hospital in Srinagar.

“Five army soldiers who had been trapped under snow after the caving in of track in Machill sector on January 28 and subsequently rescued after a grueling daylong mission, were today evacuated to Srinagar, despite persistent poor weather conditions, for specialist medical care. Unfortunately, all the brave hearts have succumbed to their injuries,” said Colonel N.N. Joshi, defence spokesman at Northern Command.

The mortal remains of 14 soldiers who were killed in an avalanche in Gurez but could not be evacuated earlier because of the weather, were also brought to Srinagar on Monday in Indian Air Force helicopters.

“The mortal remains of the brave soldiers will be taken to their native places tomorrow (Tuesday) for their last rites,” Joshi said.

Record snowfall in the valley this January has caused serious damage to life and property of the army deployed at the LoC. Some Army posts located at an altitude of 14,500 feet and more witnessed more than 12 feet snow during winters.

The troops, however, continued manning the posts and patrolling the areas to prevent infiltration from the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and repeat of Kargil when Pakistan army and militants occupied army posts in winters.

Massive snow avalanches across the Kashmir valley this year have also brought back the horrors of the Siachen glacier tragedy of 2016.

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