Army jawan killed, 3 others go missing as avalanche hits Ladakh's Mount Kun area

Srinagar: An Army jawan died and three others went missing after a snow avalanche swept them in an area near the 23,219 feet high Kun Peak located 61 km south of Kargil on Sunday.

The police and Army sources in Kargil said that about forty Army personnel from the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) and the Army Adventure Wing were being imparted routine training near Mount Kun when the avalanche hit the area. “Such exercises are standard practice during this season, aiming to provide realistic mountaineering training for HAWS participants as part of the ‘Train the Trainer’ concept," a defense spokesman said.

However, during the training ascent the group faced an unexpected avalanche as a result of which four of the “dedicated personnel” were trapped underneath, the spokesman said, adding that rescue operations were initiated immediately after the incident and were continuing despite inclement weather and heavy snow pile up till reports last came in.

So far, the body of one soldier has been retrieved from under the mounds of snow whereas the search for his missing colleagues is underway, he said.

Kun Peak is a part of Nun Kun Mountain massif in Ladakh, and the second-highest summit of the massif in the western Himalayan Range, located near the Suru valley, on the road connecting Kargil and Zanskar.