5 feared dead after avalanche hits van carrying 12 people in Doda.
Doda: Almost Five people were buried alive on Thursday when a snow avalanche hit a public transport vehicle in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.
The victims were travelling in a van from Bani town to Bhaderwah when the avalanche hit the vehicle at Chattar Gali, around 40 km from Bhaderwah town, in the early morning hours and swept it down into a gorge.
A rescue operation was on and three injured persons had been rescued so far, a senior police officer said.
The van was carrying 12 passengers.
BRO workers along with some locals started rescue operations and also informed the police, said SDPO, Bhaderwah, Birjesh Sharma.
“As of now three of the injured including driver of the vehicle have been rescued and sent to Sub District Hospital Bhaderwah,” he said.
The Bhaderwah-Basholi highway has been closed, reported Times Now.
Last month, three soldiers were killed and as many were injured after fresh snow triggered multiple avalanches in the Batalik sector in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
Four civilians also lost their lives in the Valley in April as they were hit by an avalanche in Kargil.
With inputs from agencies