11 dead after Avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara

Srinagar, 6 January: Eleven people were killed after a vehicle they were travelling in was hit by an avalanche in north Kashmir's Kupwara district on Friday. Two others have been rescued with teams of police, army, State Disaster Response Force and Mountain Rescue continuing search and rescue operations.

A one-year-old baby is among those who died after the avalanche hit the vehicle.

The incident took place at Sadhna Top in Tangdhar area of the district at 4 pm on Friday. The people were reportedly on their way from Kupwara to Karnah in a Tata Sumo.

A Border Roads Organisation engineer, who was also hit by an avalanche in the same area, was recovered but could not be revived as there was no doctor available at the avalanche site, people familiar with the matter said.

"Engineer Mangla Prasad Singh was killed. His body has been recovered," a police officer said, news agency IANS reported.

Rescue operations are extremely difficult due to temperature being several degrees below zero.