400 army men trapped, buried in Gulmarg
Avalanche kills 17, 18 more injured    
Shabir Ibn Yusuf
SRINAGAR, Feb 8: Seventeen troopers including an officer killed while 18 others injured in Khilanmarg-Gulmarg today when an avalanche swept them. The army personnel were establishing a Winter Warfare Camp under the aegis of   High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) Gulmarg.
Defence sources said that  400 troopers had left HAWS Gulmarg at 8 AM this morning and reached Khilanmarg at 10.30 AM, nine kilometers uphill at a height of over 10,000 feet when they were hit by the avalanche.
“We have recovered 17 bodies of troopers and 18 others are injured but all them are out of danger,” Colonel Vineet Sood defence PRO in Srinagar said. He put the number of troopers who were swept by the avalanche at 400. “All the injured have been sent back to their camp after the treatment,” Sood said.
About the rescue operation the army officer said the civil administration helped the army and rescue operation has been completed. “Besides civil administration civil doctors also participated in the rescue operations,” he said.
However, a senior officer of state administration dealing with disaster management cell said it took long time for army and the administration to reach the mishap site. “If the rescue team was deployed with the help of choppers the casuality would not have been to this extent,” he said.
The civil administrative officer disclosed that about 400 people, including 30 civilian workers were at the training centre, however the avalanche hit only one portion of the camp.
Colonel Sood admitted that no chopper was used during the rescue operations. “The condition of weather was very bad and it did not allow us to use choppers during the rescue operations,” he said. 
An official of Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) managing the Khilanmarg area said that according to their departmental information the number of troopers was more than 300 and they had left the HAWS for a routine training mission and were on the face of the ridge when the avalanche struck at around 11 AM. “The avalanche has completely destroyed the camp and our men have joined the rescue operations,” said the GDA official. “So far I know 16 bodies have been recovered,” he added. 
The official said continuous snow fall was hampering the operation. “Gulmarg and its surrounding areas have been receiving unprecedented snowfall for the past two days and it is more than five-feet of snow in certain areas,” the official said.
A deputy director of tourism department in Srinagar said that about 450 tourists are skiing in Gulmarg now-a-days. “They all are safe,” he said.
The mishap took place despite Sunday evening Snow Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) warning in Srinagar advising the people living in high altitude areas not to venture in the area which has been receiving heavy snowfall for the past three days.
The statement of SASE said, “Avalanche warning exists in the high altitude areas for the next 24 hours. People living in the areas are cautioned to avoid movement during snowfall and not to venture out in avalanche prone areas”, SASE said.
An official statement said that Khilanmarg, Uri, Baaz, Razdan Top, Z-Gali, Keran, Furkian top, Machil, Sadna Top, Urez, Niru, Baruab and Chowkibal in Kupwara and Baramulla districts of North Kashmir are areas where avalanches can come.
An official handout released by the PRO defence in Srinagar late in the evening reads, “An avalanche struck the training area at Khilanmarg of High Altitude Warfare School, Gulmarg at 1100 hrs on 08 Feb 10, wherein 400 troops where undergoing training. However, approximately only 80 troops were entrapped by the avalanche,” the statement said. 
The statement added, “Prompt action by the Army duly assisted by the state administration including civilian doctors and Police, resulted in rescue of the military personnel, who initially came under the avalanche. Despite the best efforts of the rescue team, one officer and 16 soldiers lost their lives while two had minor injuries and fifteen were given medical aid. All personnel have been recovered and accounted for. A Brigadier from the formation is over seeing the rescue operations.”
 Pertinently frequent rain and heavy snowfall often triggers avalanches and landslides in valley, blocking roads and cutting off tourist resorts like Gulmarg. Last year in April, an avalanche hit an army post in Uri Sector of the same sector and left seven troopers dead and injuring at least eight others.