Jan. 30 (UPI) -- Five Indian soldiers buried in an avalanche in the Macchil sector of the mountainous Jammu and Kashmir region died days after their rescue, an army spokesman said.
Col. Rajesh Kalia said the soldiers, on routine counterinsurgency duty, were rescued Saturday after a cave-in at their post. They died after they were hospitalized in the nearby city of Srinagar.
Last week heavy snowfall struck the region, in the Himalayan Mountains, and a large number of civilians were evacuated from high-risk areas. Power and communication lines were interrupted in some areas.
Four avalanches struck the nearby Gurez sector on Wednesday, killing 15 soldiers and five civilians. Two were on the Line of Control separating Pakistani and Indian authority in the region, the Indian military reporting that three soldiers died in the avalanches but six were rescued.
