Body of missing soldier recovered in Kokernag; search continues for another
Srinagar: Security forces on Thursday recovered the body of a soldier in Jammu and Kashmir’s Anantnag district, while the search for another missing soldier entered its third day, officials said.
According to officials, the body was found in the Gadole forests of Kokernag area. Preliminary investigation indicates that the soldier may have died of hypothermia.
Search operations are underway to locate the second missing soldier, but officials said dense vegetation, rough terrain, and adverse weather are making the mission difficult.
Both soldiers, commandos from an elite para unit, went missing on Tuesday during a combing operation in the Ahlan Gadole area, which had been launched two days earlier following intelligence inputs about the presence of terrorists.
Officials said the soldiers lost contact after their communication lines went down. Helicopters were deployed for aerial surveillance to trace them.
The Srinagar-based Chinar Corps stated that the operational team had been caught in extreme weather conditions.
“On the intervening night of October 6 and 7, an operational team on the Kishtwar range faced a severe snowstorm and whiteout conditions in the mountains of southern Kashmir. Since then, two soldiers have been out of communication,” the Corps said in a post on X on Wednesday.
“Intense search and rescue efforts are ongoing but remain hampered by adverse weather,” it added.
