Shimla: Heavy snow and rain have hampered the operation to search for five Army jawans trapped in the snow avalanche near the Shipki La border post in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district, officials said on Thursday. Six jawans of the 7 JAK Rifles of the Army unit - four from Himachal Pradesh, one each from Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir- are feared dead in the avalanche that occurred at around 11 AM on Wednesday.
The search and rescue operation has been adversely affected as Pooh witnessed 4 to 5 inches snowfall whereas more snowfall occurred at Shipki La and adjoining areas Wednesday night, Kinnaur District Public Relations Officer Mamta Negi said, adding it has been raining heavily at the spot since morning. However, men have moved to continue the search operation, she added.
The body of one of the Army jawans was recovered on Wednesday itself, but there was no trace of five others. The deceased jawan was identified as Rakesh Kumar (41) of Ghumarpur village in Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. Five Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) jawans were also injured in the avalanche. They have been identified as Belangeen, Rajneesh Kumar, Mohammad Ishan, Rambaran, Tele Tek Chand, Army sources said.