Lolab Avalanche: Bodies of 3 hunters recovered after 6 days

Six days after three hunters were buried under a massive snow avalanche in Lashkote forests of Kupwara district, their bodies were retrieved on Thursday by a joint search and rescue team of police and army, authorities said.

Members of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and locals assisted in the operation that lasted over 30 hours in high altitude forest area.

   

Muhammad Altaf son of Haider Ali and Ghulam Muhammad Lone son of Ali Muhammad Lone, both residents of Warnow village, and Bashir Ahmad Ganie son of Ghulam Rasool of Dardpora village ventured into forest area for hunting on February 24, but were buried under a snow avalanche. 

“The policemen assisted by army and locals continued rescue and search operation throughout the night. Finally the bodies of the hunters were recovered this afternoon,” Shamsher Hussian, Kupwara senior superintendent of police, who monitored the rescue along with senior army officers, told Greater Kashmir.

“The victims were buried under 20 feet snow in the high altitude area,” he added.

Addressing reporters at Charkote army camp, Brigadier 8 sector RR, Mohit Trivedi said besides civilian volunteers a team of soldiers led by Maj. Adhiraj Singh and Capt. Vinod of 18 RR and equipped with the latest technology carried out the rescue alongside police and SDRF.

GOVT ANNOUNCES RS 4 LAKH EX-GRATIA:

Minister for Disaster Management, Relief Rehabilitation & Reconstruction, Javaid Mustafa Mir today announced ex gratia relief of Rs 4 lakhs each in favour of the next of kin of the three persons who lost their lives in the snow avalanche. 

The ex- gratia relief was provided to the families of the victims under State Disaster Response Fund(SDRF).

The Minister asked Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and District Disaster Management Authorities to take note why such incident occurred when avalanche warning was already issued. He stressed on pre-emptive measures to prevent such incidents in the future.

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