Two Indian Army paratroopers found dead after missing in Kokernag operation

Two Indian Army paratroopers who went missing earlier this week during an antiterror cordon-and-search operation in the Gadool forests of Kokernag in south Kashmir have been found dead, officials said. The soldiers, members of an elite para unit, lost contact with their unit during severe weather on the night of October 6-7, and search teams recovered their bodies from snowbound, high-altitude terrain after an intensive multi-day operation.

Army and Jammu and Kashmir Police officials said the paratroopers were part of a small team conducting a combing operation in the upper reaches of Kokernag, a densely forested area of Anantnag district characterized by deep gorges and steep slopes. The operation had been launched on specific intelligence inputs about suspected militant presence in the Gadool area. Heavy snowfall and whiteout conditions developed in the sector on the night the soldiers went missing, and communications with the two soldiers could not be reestablished.

Search and rescue efforts involved large contingents of the Army, Jammu and Kashmir Police and other security forces, with helicopter sorties assisting ground teams. Local Gujjar and Bakarwal communities were also...