Daily Times

SRINAGAR: Five more Indian soldiers who were caught underneath the snow after a series of avalanches in Indian-held Kashmir have died, increasing the death toll to 25 people, Indian officials said on Monday.

The five soldiers had been rescued from the aftermath of the avalanche in an operation on Saturday; however they succumbed to their injuries and died. Rescue personnel had not been able to fly them to base hospital in nearby Srinagar until Monday due to the inclement weather.

The men had been approaching a border post along the Line of Control (LoC) when their track caved in.

They were the latest casualties from a series of avalanches in the region, after one of the harshest winters in decades.

Heavy snowfall had been recorded in the disputed territory with temperatures dropping to -7 Celsius.

Last Wednesday, 15 Indian soldiers died when a patrol and two camps were hit by separate avalanches in the northern part of the area. The rescue operation only succeeded in retrieving their bodies from underneath the snow with the operation taking two days.

Five civilians had also died in separate avalanches in the period.

Scores of soldiers on both sides of the border are killed by avalanches every winter along the heavily militarised dividing line.

Authorities have warned of the possibility of more avalanches and urged residents in the mountainous areas to take caution and not wander outside their homes.