A tragic avalanche at the high-altitude Zojila Pass in Jammu and Kashmir has claimed at least seven lives and left five others injured, highlighting once again the dangers of travel through one of India's most challenging mountain routes.
The incident occurred on March 27 around 3 PM near Zero Point in the Ganderbal district, approximately 70 kilometres north of Srinagar. According to senior police officials, several vehicles travelling from Srinagar to Kargil were suddenly buried under heavy snow when the avalanche struck without warning.
Rescue teams, along with local police and personnel from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), immediately launched a large-scale operation in the snowbound area. Despite difficult conditions, they managed to pull out survivors and recover seven bodies from beneath the snow. At the time of the latest reports, two persons were still missing, and search efforts were ongoing.
Authorities confirmed that all seven victims were residents of Kargil in Ladakh. Senior officials from Ladakh, including Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Executive Councillor Mohd Jaffer Akhoon, came to the site soon after receiving the tragic news.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh expressed grief over the incident in a post on X, offering condolences to the bereaved families. He assured that all necessary medical assistance is being provided to the injured and that rescue teams are working tirelessly to locate anyone still trapped.
Zojila Pass, which connects Kashmir to Ladakh, is known for extreme weather conditions and remains closed for nearly five months during winter due to heavy snowfall.
Following the avalanche, the Srinagar-Kargil highway has been completely shut down, and authorities are focusing on clearing snow and restoring safe passage.
To address the long-standing issue of seasonal closures and improve safety, work is currently underway on the ambitious Zojila Tunnel project. Once completed, the tunnel will provide an all-weather link between Ladakh and the rest of India.
Planned as a single-tube, two-lane structure stretching 14.2 kilometres and 9.5 metres wide at an altitude of around 12,000 feet, it is expected to become Asia's longest tunnel.
While infrastructure developments promise a safer future, the latest avalanche serves as a reminder of the region's unpredictable nature and the risks faced by those travelling through it.
