State govt extending all support to locate trapped soldiers: Himachal CM

Dharamshala: The Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said that state government is lending all possible support to the security forces in their rescue operations to locate jawans trapped under the snow in an avalanche.

“The situation is very tough due to the inclement weather and the rescue operation is not an easy task. We are giving all possible support to the Army and ITBP for rescue operations,” said Jai Ram Thakur.

The rescue operation of five Army personnel trapped in snow resumed late on Friday with the authorities suspecting that the chances of their survival are minimal.

The rescue operations were severely hampered due to bad weather conditions. No rescue operation could be launched on Thursday because of the continuous snowfall. Over 200 personnel of Army, ITBP, local police and district disaster management have been deployed in the rescue operation.

On Wednesday, an avalanche took place due to sliding of a glacier near Namgia Dogri, burying six soldiers of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles when they were on a routine patrol.

The body of one of the soldiers was later recovered. The deceased soldier has been identified as Rajesh Kumar from Himachal Pradesh.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]