2 dead in landslides in J-K, 400 roads cut off due to snow in HP
A Russian skier died while seven others, including a local guide, were rescued as an avalanche struck the ski slopes of Gulmarg.
NEW DELHI: Two people died in a landslide and avalanche in Jammu and Srinagar on Thursday, while at least 400 roads in Himachal Pradesh remained cut off due to heavy snow and rain.
More than 80 people were rescued from two snowed-under places in J-K, while an “exceptionally” heavy snowfall in Sikkim cut off a strategic road and threw general life out of gear.
Weather in the national capital remained pleasant with the maximum temperature settling at 26.2 degrees Celsius, a notch above normal.
A Russian skier died while seven others, including a local guide, were rescued as an avalanche struck the ski slopes of Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.
According to police, the group of seven Russians and a local guide ventured into a non-ski zone in the avalanche-prone Army Ridge area.
“There was an avalanche warning but they still ventured into that zone and unfortunately one skier died,” Gulmarg Police Station SHO Haroon Kar said.
The deceased was identified as Hanten from Moscow in Russia and his body has been taken to the Tangmarg sub-district hospital for post mortem, the police officer said.
A construction worker was hit by a landslide outside his company headquarters near Seri in Ramban district around 8.30 am, police said.
Deshpaul, a native of Uttar Pradesh, was going towards the mess of the company for breakfast when the incident occurred.
In Qazigund, army troops rescued over 80 students and faculty staff stranded on the Jammu-Kashmir Highway for the past three days due to landslides and snowstorm.
Heavy snowfall and roadblocks caused by landslides on Wednesday left many commuters stranded along the treacherous Jammu-Srinagar highway, among them were 74 students of Rajasthan Law college and seven of its staff members, officials said.
“A landslide occurred just 500 metres in front of our vehicle after crossing Banihal, leaving us frightened,” one of the students said.
An official of the traffic department said the 270-km long highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, remained closed for the fourth day following a fresh landslide at Kishtwari Pather near Banihal.
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