5 soldiers rescued from under snow in Kashmir

Five Indian Army soldiers trapped under snow were rescued on Saturday near the Line of Control (LoC) in Machil sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

Earlier, three soldiers were pulled out in Machil sector of Kupwara district. Later the two missing soldiers were rescued.

All the five, of a Rashtriya Rifles (RR) patrol party, are being treated for hypothermia, officials said.

The soldiers were trapped after the snow track on which they were moving caved in on Saturday near the LoC.

The incident comes just days after two avalanches hit a military post and a patrol along the Line of Control, killing 15.

The RR party was on routine counter insurgency duties when the mishap occurred, the sources said.

A massive rescue operation was started by the army and police immediately.

Kashmir has seen heavy snow this week and authorities had warned of the "high danger" of avalanches. Power and communication lines are also down in some areas.

Officials evacuated dozens of residents from high-risk areas after authorities issued an avalanche warning in many parts of the region.

--IANS

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