Two Jammu and Kashmir policemen rescued from avalanche site in Kulgam; seven still feared trapped

Two of the ten Jammu and Kashmir policemen who were trapped inside their post under a snow avalanche since Thursday night near Jawahar Tunnel on Srinagar-Jammu National Highway were rescued on Friday, officials said. Efforts are on to rescue the other seven policemen who are still feared under snow.

Jammu and Kashmir: Two persons have been rescued from near the police post in Jawahar Tunnel area in Kulgam district where an avalanche took place earlier today. One of them is in critical condition. pic.twitter.com/xBQcd2kTGK

— ANI (@ANI) February 8, 2019

Rescue efforts started Thursday night, however, it had to be stopped. On Friday morning, the rescue teams faced a lot of difficulty in reaching the avalanche site due to strong winds and accumulation of snow, officials said. The avalanche had hit the north portal of Jawahar Tunnel on the Qazigund side in Kulgam district on Thursday evening. While 10 policemen posted at the police post near the tunnel managed to reach safety before the avalanche struck, 10 other policemen were believed to be trapped. Kashmir valley has been witnessing heavy snowfall since Wednesday with Kulgam district in south Kashmir receiving maximum precipitation in the past 24 hours. Some places in the district have received as much as five feet of snow, officials said. Earlier authorities had issued high danger avalanche warning to Anantnag, Bandipora, Baramulla, Budgam, Ganderbal, Kulgam and Kupwara districts in the Valley, while medium danger warning was issued to Poonch, Rajouri, Ramban, Reasi, Doda, Kishtwar, Udhampur and Leh districts. A low danger warning was issued for Kargil district as well. With inputs from PTI