2017 Gurez sector avalanche
| Date | 25 January 2017 |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 34°36′18″N 74°57′42″E / 34.60500°N 74.96167°E |
| Cause | Unknown, possibly earthquakes and/or heavy snowfall |
| Participants | 15+(11 soldiers, 5 civilians) some still missing |
| Deaths | 15 |
The Gurez Avalanche Accident was a series of four avalanches that claimed the lives of 19 persons, 15 soldiers and four civilians in Jammu and Kashmir on the evening of 25 January 2017.[1][2]
The Accident
There was heavy snowfall before the accident, there had been multiple avalanches in Jammu and Kashmir. The Chandigarh based Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment warned of more avalanches in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh before the accident took place.
The first avalanche hit Gurez on 25 of January morning, in which a family of four civilians died. The second took place around the same time in Sonmarg, chiefly a tourist area, where an army camp was located. While seven soldiers were rescued later, a Major, Amit Sagar, who had been buried in snow, could not be saved.
In the evening, two avalanches again hit the Gurez Valley roughly 150 km from Sonmarg in quick succession. One affected an army camp located there, the other hit a group of soldiers who had been out on patrol. The bodies of 10 soldiers have been recovered from the area, the army said. It is not yet known how many soldiers are missing.[3]
On 28 January 4 more bodies of soldiers were found taking the death toll to 15 soldiers.[4]
References
- ^ "Gurez Avalanche accident". No. 26 January 2017. NDTV. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "Gurez death toll rises". No. 27 January 2017. NDTV. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
- ^ "Gurez Avalanche accident". No. 26 January 2017. NDTV. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
- ^ "Gurez death toll rises". No. 27 January 2017. NDTV. Retrieved 27 January 2017.