Srinagar, January 18:  At least five bodies have been recovered so far out of the 10 people trapped under snow after an avalanche hit the Khardung La mountain pass in Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir on Friday. The Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council informed that four bodies have been found so far, 6 people are still missing. An official of the Council said that the rescue operation is still underway and they have spoken to Union Ministers Rajnath Singh & Dr Jitendra Singh about the rescue operation being conducted. The MeT department on Thursday had said that the Kashmir division would witness another spell of snow between January 19 to January 23.

As most parts of Kashmir, including the plains, experienced fresh snowfall this month, the MeT department had issued an avalanche warning for nine districts of Kashmir. The places include avalanche prone areas including Anantnag, Kulgam, Budgam, Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal, Kargil and Leh. Avalanche Warning in Jammu & Kashmir.

According to reports, Kashmir divisional commissioner Baseer Khan advised people in the Kashmir Valley not to venture out to avoid untoward incidents. The deputy commissioners of all these districts have been ordered to be alert to prevent any untoward incidents. Kashmir to Receive Heavy Snowfall for 5 Days Starting January 19, MeT Department Issues Avalanche Warning.

Avalanche in Khardung La, Ladakh:

According to MeT, Srinagar has received 5.4 mm of snow, Gulmarg in north Kashmir received 15.2 mm snowfall. Pahalgam in south Kashmir recorded 9.0 mm snow while Kupwara receiving 16.2 mm of snow on Thursday.

On January 3, an Army jawan was killed and another was injured when an avalanche hit an Army post along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district.  According to reports, the avalanche hit the post of Rashtriya Rifles in Sawjian sector in the morning. It buried two soldiers, following which a rescue operation was launched immediately.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 18, 2019 10:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).