Two Polish skiers killed in avalanche in Kashmir's Gulmarg

Two Polish tourists died in a massive avalanche that hit the upper reaches of Jammu and Kashmirs ski resort Gulmarg on Wednesday police saidSkiers both foreigners and locals were at the slopes when the avalanche hit At least 19 foreigners have so far been rescued successfully police saidThe bodies of the two Polish nationals have been recovered and moved to hospital for medicolegal proceduresAlso read Life in Kashmir disrupted due to fresh snowfall road air traffic hitRescue operations are still in progress in the tourist town in Baramulla district with police teams on the jobThe number of those missing is not knownAvalanche hit the Afarwat peak HapathKhud at famous ski resort in Gulmarg Rescue operation has been launched by Baramulla Police alongwith other agencies Reports of some skiers being trapped are being corroborated More details shall follow a spokesperson of the Baramulla district police said on Twitter soon after the incident Videos of the avalanche showing people running for their lives circulated widely on social mediaMeanwhile the JammuSrinagar National Highway was closed for traffic for the third consecutive day on Wednesday following fresh landslides in Ramban district leaving more than 800 vehicles stranded on the roadThe 270 kilometrelong highway the only allweather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country was blocked by mudslides and shooting stones between Chanderkote and Banihal in the district on MondayThere was a major landslide on the highway at Rampari area in Banihal tehsil Wednesday morning Besides another landslide took place in Wagon an official told PTIMen and machines have been deployed to clear the highway officials said adding that it will take several hours to clear the areaMeanwhile traffic officials have issued an advisory asking people not to travel on the highwayAccording to them more than 800 vehicles are stranded at different points of the highwayThe Mughal road which connects Shopian district of Kashmir with Poonch district of Jammu was also blocked for traffic due to heavy snowfall they saidSeveral interdistrict roads are closed due to heavy snowfall in the mountainous districts of Jammu region the officials addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever