Fayaz Bukhari
SRINAGAR, Feb 18: An avalanche today struck Naristan hills in South Kashmir’s Tral area killing two men who had gone to the forests to collect fire wood.
The avalanche struck Naristan hills of Tral area at around 2 pm. People of the area got alerted as they heard huge sound of avalanche striking the area.
The residents rushed to the spot after they heard that two men from the area had gone to collect fire wood from the forests. They were identified as Mohammad Yousuf, 22, son of Ghulla Gojar and Mohammad Yousuf, 32, son of Jumma Ahmad of Naristan.
After several hours of search for the two men, residents retrieved their bodies from the snow by using shovels. The two men were buried in a snow avalanche and were tracked by the locals. Later, police also reached the spot and the bodies were brought down and handed over to the relatives after medico legal formalities.
The Station House Officer (SHO) Tral, Tariq Ahmad, said that the two men have died due to the avalanche and the police with the help of locals retrieved their bodies from snow.
The Police officer said that the two men had left their home this morning to collect the fire wood in Mushkidajan area in hills Naristan area in Tral district Pulwama. He said after the avalanche struck, they were alerted by the locals that these men had gone to the area and might have come under avalanche.
The Divisional Commissioner Kashmir had last week issued avalanche warning in the hills of Kashmir after heavy snowfall. The people in the avalanche prone areas of Kashmir were asked not to venture out. However, there was no avalanche warning for this week.
This is the second incident in Kashmir valley in past 20 days that avalanches led to killing of people. Last month a teenager boy was killed and two others injured after an avalanche struck Machhil area in North Kashmir’s Kupwara district.
Early this month, on February 3 an avalanche struck Siachen Glacier in Ladakh region, burying 10 soldiers. Army’s avalanche rescue team rescued one soldier Naik Hanamanthapa from under 30 feet of snow and recovered 9 bodies after six days of search and rescue operation. However, Naik Thapa who was admitted in Army’s Research and Refferal hospital in New Delhi later died.
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