Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, June 9: An Army jawan drowned in the river Kishenganga in the border town of Gurez in north Kashmir district of Bandipora, official sources said today.
The jawan slipped and fell into river Kishenganga during the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday when he was on duty in Tulail in Gurez. ‘’Other soldiers present at the spot tried to save the jawan, but the fast flowing water of the river swept him along with his service rifle,’’ they said.
They said a search and rescue operation was immediately launched. However, they said that the body of the soldier could not be retrieved so far. ‘’There is a possibly that the high currents would have swept the body of the soldier towards Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK),’’ they added.
Gurez, which remains cut off for six winter months from rest of the State due to heavy snowfall, is surrounded by PoK from three sides.