Trapped Under 5 Feet Of Snow, Cop Rescued By Army Near Line Of Control

Srinagar: Battling heavy snowfall, blizzard and zero visibility, the Army on Monday rescued a Jammu and Kashmir police constable, who was trapped under heaps of snow near the Line of Control in Kupwara district.

There's been heavy snowfall in the upper reaches of the Kashmir valley for the last four days. Officials say around five feet of snow has accumulated along the Shamasbari mountains in Kupwara district and the Kupwara-Tangdhar road is closed due to heavy snowfall.

The policeman, Arshad Mir, along with four others, had set out for Tangdhar on foot. While the others waded through heavy snow and managed to cross Nasta Chuun pass along the Kupwara-Tangdhar road, the constable got caught in the snow.
 A defence spokesperson said an avalanche rescue team of the Army swung into action and launched a rescue operation after they received information that Mr Mir was trapped in snow.

"The avalanche rescue team immediately sprang into action despite the snowfall, blizzard and zero visibility. The team on reaching the incident site found Mr Arshad Mir in a critical state, who had lost all hopes of survival," the spokesperson said.

He said the Army provided him first aid and it took him couple of hours to regain consciousness.

Three days ago, the Army had evacuated 73 people who were stranded at a snowbound mountainous pass along Kupwara-Tangdhar road near the Line of Control.