Five soldiers were reported missing after an avalanche struck a forward post in the Gurez sector in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district, the police said on Tuesday morning. An Army porter died in another avalanche, The Hindu reported.

“Two soldiers slipped down the slope in Naugam sector in Kupwara,” Army Spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia told the newspaper. “Three soldiers went missing from a forward post in Kanzalwan sub-sector in Bandipora’s Gurez in the past 24 hours.”

Fresh snowfall on Monday night triggered the avalanche near the Line of Control. “Efforts are on to trace the missing soldiers, but continuous snowfall is hampering rescue and search efforts,” a police officer told PTI.

The Kashmir Valley received more snowfall on Tuesday, and the plain areas got their first snowfall of the season, the Hindustan Times reported. The Jammu-Srinagar Highway was closed for vehicular traffic for the second day due to heavy rain and snowfall. The highway is the only all-weather road linking Kashmir to the rest of India.

On Monday, the highest rainfall – 14.3 mm – was recorded at Batote town in Ramban. Pahalgam recorded a snowfall of one inch. Doda Kishtwar, Ramban, Kathua, Rajouri, Reasi and Poonch experienced heavy snowfall.

The India Meteorological Department has predicted snowfall or rain in many parts of Kashmir till Wednesday.