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Thousands of travelers trapped as Kashmir buried under heavy snows
Published in Saudi Press Agency on 10 - 02 - 2005


Thousands of travelers were trapped
Saturday along a stretch of mountainous highway in Kashmir,
as more than three meters (10 feet) of snow fell in 24
hours, blocking roads, breaking power lines and halting
phone services across much of the Himalayan region,
authorities said.
Ten highway workers trying to clear the road were swept
away when an avalanche of snow poured over them, said Rauf
ul-Hafan, the highway superintendent for the traffic
police, but six were rescued. Authorities were searching
for the others.
He said about 4,000 people were believed to be trapped
between the villages of Banihal, about 100 kms (60 miles)
south of Srinagar, and Ramban, about 50 kilometers further
south, he said. Most are believed to have taken shelter in
villages along the highway, which is prone to avalanches.
With heavy snow still falling, and meteorologists
predicting it would continue until at least Sunday, it was
not clear when the travelers would be rescued.
"Because of the continuous snowfall, rescue and clearance
operations have been slowed down," said ul-Hafan. "So
police and government officials are trying to take people
to nearby villages and get them to temporary shelters."
Police said at least a dozen homes had collapsed under the
weight of the snowfall in the border regions of Kupwara and
Badgam, but there were no reports of injuries or deaths.
About 50 centimeters (20 inches) of snow had fallen since
Friday on Srinagar, the main city in Kashmir, blocking the
streets and shutting down electricity and phone service.
With communications cut across much of Kashmir, it was not
clear if there had been snow-related incidents elsewhere.
A mixture of snow and rain had been pelting Kashmir for
the past week, but the precipitation changed to heavy
snowfall on Friday.


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