7 Officials Missing After Avalanche Hits Army Patrol In Arunchal Pradesh's Kameng Sector

Seven Army personnel have gone missing after a patrol team was hit by an avalanche in Kameng sector of Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday. Rescue operation is on.

The incident took place in the high-altitude area of the Kameng sector yesterday. The Army has airlifted search and rescue teams to the location and operations were underway to trace the missing personnel.

¡°Search and rescue operations are currently underway. Specialised teams have been airlifted to assist in rescue operations,¡± Defence PRO Tezpur said on Monday.

The area has been witnessing inclement weather with heavy snowfall since the last few days. The sparsely populated, forested Kameng sector is located at heights of over 14,000 feet and borders Bhutan and China.

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Snowfall after 34 years

Daria Hill near Itanagar received snowfall after 34 years and Rupa town in Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng district witnessed snowfall after two decades, according to news agency PTI.

Temperatures might further dip in the Northeast Region of India, which is already reeling under a cold spell with heavy rain, snowfall, dense fog and thunderstorm over parts of the region in the next couple of days.

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Warnings have been issued for certain parts of the region which may experience extreme weather phenomena. Dense fog is very likely to occur at isolated places in East Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram & Tripura.

Avalanche warning in Himachal too

Meanwhile, the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE), Manali, has issued an avalanche warning at 24 places in five districts of Himachal Pradesh, including Lahaul and Spiti, Kullu, Chamba, Kinnaur and Shimla. In wake of the alert, the respective district administrations have advised people to avoid venturing into avalanche-prone areas.

SASE has issued avalanche warning in Solang nullah, south and north portals of Atal Tunnel, Koksar, Batal, Kaza, Tabo, Sumdo, Kalpa, Karchham, Sangla, Chitkul, Narkanda and Theog. Avalanche may also hit Jalori Pass, Nehrukund, Palchan-Kothi, Rohtang Pass, Sissu, Tandi, Keylong, Darcha, and other high-altitude areas.

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Other avalanche prone areas are Killar, Barwas, Gahar, Kalawan, Ranikot in remote Pangi valley of Chamba and Manimahesh trek route in Bharmour. The hill state experienced a spell of snow on Thursday and Friday, throwing normal life out of gear. Though the skies have cleared, the state is still struggling to return to normal as hundreds of roads are still blocked for traffic.

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