Avalanche occurred near Baltal area in Sonamarg.
Two labourers were killed and another is missing after a snow avalanche was reported in the popular hill station of Sonamarg in Jammu and Kashmir today, a video of which has been widely shared online.
The avalanche was reportedly filmed near the Baltal area in Sonamarg, which is located in the Ganderbal district in central Kashmir.
A construction company found its two labourers missing after a rescue operation was launched, and a body was found. The victim was identified as Sandeep, a resident of Kishtwar.
Another labourer is buried under the snow and there are bleak chances of survival. The avalanche has also blocked the Sind river flow.
Fresh snowfall in the higher reaches of the valley have pushed the night temperature above the freezing point across Kashmir.
While temperatures in Srinagar have been around 3 degrees Celsius, Qazigund, the gateway to the Valley, has registered a minimum of 1.6 degrees Celsius,.
The tourist resort town of Pahalgam in Anantnag district, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, registered a low of minus 0.3 degrees Celsius - up from minus 3.2 degrees.
The minimum temperature in Gulmarg in Baramulla district was at minus 3 degrees Celsius, news agency PTI reported.
Kashmir is currently under the grip of 'Chillai Kalan', the 40-day harshest weather period when the chances of snowfall are maximum and most frequent.
Chillai Kalan begins on December 21 and ends on January 30. The cold wave continues even after that with a 20-day-long 'Chillai Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day-long 'Chillai Bachha' (baby cold) following it.