Gulmarg avalanche: 2 foreign nationals dead, 21 rescued safely

Feb 01, 2023

BARAMULLA: Two foreign nationals were killed in an avalanche in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg, police said on Wednesday.

During the rescue oerations, 19 foreign nationals and 2 local guides have been rescued.

Some skiers were trapped in the famous ski resort Gulmarg after an avalanche hit the Afarwat peak in the region, Baramulla Police informed on Wednesday.

Baramulla police informed through a statement that three teams comprising twenty-one Foreign nationals and two local guides went to Affarwat Gulmarg for skiing on Wednesday.

The skiing teams were trapped in Hapatkhud Kangdori, situated in Gulmarg, where the people went skiing.

"At about 12.30 pm, a massive avalanche hit Hapatkhud Kangdori where these skiing teams got trapped", the press release stated.

On receiving the information Baramulla police mobilized joint rescue teams of JKP and the tourism department and they reached the site of the avalanche.

The joint rescue operations by the Jammu Kashmir Police and the tourism department saved twenty-one out of the trapped twenty-three people. Two foreign nationals lost their lives. Their bodies were sent to the hospital for further medical and legal procedures.

"During the rescue ops, 19 foreign nationals and 2 local guides have been rescued. Unfortunately, 2 foreign nationals lost their lives in the avalanche, and their bodies have also been recovered, which have been shifted to hospital for Medico-legal procedures," the police release stated.

Senior police officers are at the site monitoring the rescue ops, updated the police.