Three killed in Pahalgam avalanche

Pahalgam, Feb 1: Three persons died after an avalanche struck Aru area of Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district on Friday.

An official said that three persons went missing along with a JCB after an avalanche struck at Gudkhamb point in Aru. The trio was clearing snow from the road when the incident took place.

However, one among the trio was rescued and shifted to a hospital where he succumbed.

An official said that the rescue teams and machinery were swiftly pressed into service to rescue the missing persons. He said the rescuers retrieved the bodies of both the persons buried under snow.

The deceased were identified as Javed Ahmed Sheikh s/o Mohammad Shaban Sheikh of Frislan Pahalgam, Ilyas Ahmed Shah s/ o Abdul Gani Shah of Midoora Tral and Abdul Aziz Khatana s/o Mohammad Amin Khatana of Manilan Pahalgam.