SRINAGAR: Three army men were killed and another critically injured after an army post was hit by a snow avalanche in Machil sector of north Kashmir’s Kupwara district in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday.
An army official said snow avalanche hit an army post of 21 Rajput Rifles at Sona Pandi Gali in Machil sector of Kupwara district this afternoon.
He said four army men were trapped under the snow.
The official said three soldiers were killed in the avalanche and another injured.
Immediately after the avalanche struck, army’s Avalanche Rescue Teams (ARTs) rushed to the spot and launched the rescue operation.
The official said the ARTs rescued an injured army man trapped in the snow and retrieved bodies of three soldiers.
The injured soldier has been evacuated to army hospital in Srinagar for specialised treatment.
The upper reaches of Valley, especially close to Line of Control (LoC), are vulnerable to snow avalanches during the winter.
Earlier in December last year, five soldiers were killed after snow avalanches had struck at two places along the Line of Control (LoC) in Naugam and Gurez sector.
In January last year, 20 soldiers including four officers were killed in snow avalanches in Gurez, Machil and Uri sectors, close to the LoC in north Kashmir.