One jawan dead, five others trapped in avalanche on India-China border in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur; rescue ops underway

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh): One jawan of the Indian Army’s Jammu and Kashmir Rifles unit died and five others are trapped in an avalanche on the India-China border in Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district on Wednesday, officials said. [caption id=“attachment_5918531” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. ANI[/caption] “The body of one jawan had been found, whereas five bodies were yet to be traced,” Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Gopal Chand said. “The avalanche occurred at around 11 am near Shipkala on the India-China border,” he added. Several jawans of the India-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were also trapped in the avalanche. However, they had been rescued, Chand said. According to Army officials, 16 jawans were patrolling the India-China border area when the avalanche struck, burying six of them alive. One of them was rescued, but he succumbed to his injuries subsequently. A spokesperson of the Army said the search-and-rescue operation would go on till the last man was retrieved. A team of about 150 persons, including Army personnel, is searching for the trapped jawans, along with the police.