Swedish skier dies in Gulmarg avalanche

Tragedy hit Gulmarg on Thursday when a Swedish skier, Daniel Akesson, was killed in a massive avalanche that struck the Apharwat area in the upper reaches of a famed winter ski resort in Kashmir. However, another skier, Belgium Peter, was rescued by the joint rescue team. Now, the Jammu and Kashmir government has ordered a probe into the events that led to the tragedy.

The incident occurred in the afternoon when the two tourists were skiing on the Apharwat Alps and a massive avalanche swept over them.

Specialised Rescue Teams immediately rushed to the spot and managed to pull Peter out from underneath the snow. Later, Akesson's body was recovered from the spot.

"Two tourists came under an avalanche at Apharwat in Gulmarg on Thursday. One of the foreign tourists lost his life. His colleague Belgium was rescued and shifted to the Sub-District Hospital, Tangmarg," said Aamir Ali of the Disaster Management department.

Meanwhile, Minister of disaster management Javid Mustafa Mir said that the government will inquire into the lapses and circumstances under which the authorities allowed the foreign skiers to the avalanche prone area despite advance warning.

This is the second incident in the last 15 days when an avalanche has wreaked havoc in Kashmir. On January 6, 11 people were killed after massive avalanches struck two different places on the high altitude Sadhana Top along the strategic Srinagar-Tangdhar highway.