Himachal avalanche: Body of fourth trooper recovered

Shimla: After 17 days of search, rescuers on Saturday recovered the body of fourth trooper, rifleman Nitin Rana, officials said. He hailed from Himachal Pradesh, a defence spokesperson told IANS.

Two of the troopers, struck by an avalanche, are still missing.

Six troopers of the Jammu and Kashmir Rifles were buried under an avalanche that struck on February 20 near the Tibet border in the state's Kinnaur district, around 350 km from the state capital.

Officials said 650 personnel, specially-trained rescue dogs, rock drills and chain saws have been deployed for the search and rescue operation.

Many mountaineers from the area are also helping in the search operations.

Two separate parties of the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were patrolling Namgia Dogri when the avalanche hit.

Five ITBP troopers were also injured in the disaster.