6 Army jawans feared dead in avalanche in HP's Kinnaur

Six jawans of the Army's JK Rifles unit were feared dead in an avalanche on the Sino-India border in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district on Wednesday, officials said. The body of one of the jawans was recovered, but there was no trace of five others, Kinnaur Deputy Commissioner Gopal Chand said.

The avalanche occurred at around 11 am near Shipki La on the Sino-India border, he added. Several jawans of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were also trapped in the avalanche. However, they had been rescued, Chand said.

According to Army officials, 16 jawans were patrolling the Sino-India border area when the avalanche struck, burying six of them alive. One of them was rescued, but he succumbed to his injuries subsequently. A spokesperson of the Army said the search-and-rescue operation would go on till the last man was retrieved. A team of about 150 persons, including Army personnel, is searching for the trapped jawans, along with the police.

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