Army patrol hit by avalanche, 1 soldier dies

Update: 

ITBP: Rescue ops to continue shortly. 4 inch fresh snow accumulation on the snow slopes. More than 250 jawans of Army, ITBP & BRO machines to resume the search for 5 jawans trapped in snow after an avalanche hit them in Namgya region of Kinnaur district. Temperature is -15°C. pic.twitter.com/AkQokeuBxV

— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2019

An Indian Army patrol team has been hit by a massive avalanche in Himachal Pradesh killing one person while five others are still buried under the snow.

A massive search and rescue operation has been launched by the Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police, an Army official said here.

"An Army patrol deployed in Shipkila sector of Himachal Pradesh, while moving between two posts, was hit by a massive snow avalanche earlier in the day. Five brave Army personnel are currently missing as they were buried under the snow. One person succumbed to his injuries while being evacuated to the hospital," he said.

Avalanche remains one of the major threats to the soldiers deployed in the upper reaches of the Himalayas. 

The rescue operation was suspended till morning due to darkness.