At least five Army jawans have been reported missing after an avalanche hit Jammu and Kashmir's Bandipora and Nowgam this morning. All of them were on duty. The avalanche, triggered by fresh snowfall, struck a forward post in Gurez sector in Bandipora, NDTV reports.
"The avalanche hit an Army post at Baktoor near the Line of Control in Gurez sector during the intervening night," a police official said. He confirmed three soldiers went missing after the avalanche. Another two soldiers have been missing in Nowgam.
The army said rescue operations are underway, but heavy snowfall in the area is proving to be a huge challenge. "Efforts are on to trace the missing soldiers but continuous snowfall is hampering the rescue and search efforts," he added.
The Valley has remained cut off from the rest of the country after it received fresh snowfall today. Flight operations at the Srinagar airport were suspended and all major highways, including the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway have been closed for traffic.