Thursday, February 10 2005 14:35 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Jammu: Three more bodies of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel buried in last weekend's avalanche were recovered from near the Jawahar Tunnel as continued snowfall forced closure of the Jammu-Srinagar national highway to vehicular traffic for the fourth day today (Feb 10, 2005), traffic police sources said.

More than 3,000 people have been shifted from their vehicles and housed in sheds, Government accommodation and private houses along the highway under a major safety operation launched by the Government, the sources said in Jammu.

Some 600 vehicles were still stranded, they added.

They said Mountain Warfare School rescue workers dug out three of the seven missing ITBP personnel buried under 35 ft of snow over the past 24 hours.

The number of bodies recovered following last week's avalanche, which buried the IIBP camp guarding the Jawahar Tunnel has now gone up to 11.

Efforts were on to trace four other paramilitary personnel, they said.

Eight persons were killed, 7 injured on the spot and 12 reported missing after the avalanched came down on the camp. Of these, 5 were rescued alive in the first 72 hours.

Rashtriya Rifles troops have opened their camps to the stranded passengers and were providing them food and other necessities. Some residents of Nogam, Banihal and Thater had also opened their doors to the commuters, the sources said.

A record 10 feet of snowfall has been reported in Jawahar Tunnel and 5 feet in Patnitop in uninterrupted snowfall, they said.

The continuous snowfall is making the highway clearance operation by the Border Roads Organisation difficult.

"The Army, civil and police administration has been geared up to provide help like food, shelter, hard coke and blankets to the stranded passengers," Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma said.

Snow-clearing machines, 9 bulldozers and other equipment and men were working "against all odds and in inclement weather conditions" to restore the highway to traffic, he said.

He said that the Jammu divisional commissioner has been rushed to Ramban along with the IGP Traffic to monitor the operation.

The Doda development commissioner and other civil and police officers have already be deployed at Ramban and Banihal to supervise the relief and rescue work, he said.

Meanwhile, the power department was now supplying 300 mw to the valley, which had got disrupted due to damage to transmission towers along the national highway, the Minister said.

In another report from Jammu Army troops foiled a bid by militants to trigger explosions on the vital Jammu-Srinagar National Highway with the recovery of two Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in Banihal, nearly 190 kms from Jammu, Defence sources said.

Militants had planted the two IEDS on the highway at Nachala area in Banihal tehsil to target security forces and stranded passengers, they said.

During road opening party operation, the two IEDs were recovered by the bomb disposal squad of Army, they said.

These two IEDs weighed about 10 kgs, they said adding that if they had exploded the target would have been either stranded passengers or those engaged in the snow-clearing operation.