Two Indian army personnel killed in avalanche hit

ISLAMABAD: Two India army personnel were killed on Saturday after an avalanche hit their patrol at an altitude of about 18,000 feet in southern Siachen glacier in Ladakh occupied by India.

Six Indians were perished ten days ago in Siachen and with this number of Indian troops killed in Siachen ever-since it occupied the area in 1984 to around nine hundred fifty.

According to media report an Indian army patrol operating at an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet in southern Siachen Glacier was hit by an avalanche during the early hours of Saturday, Srinagar-based defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said in a statement. He said an Avalanche Rescue Team following the patrol immediately rushed and managed to locate and pull out all members of the patrol. Army helicopters too were simultaneously pressed into service to evacuate the avalanche victims, he said.

Despite the best efforts by the medical teams, two army personnel, however, perished in the avalanche, the officer said.

It was for the second time that an avalanche occurred in Siachen in the past two weeks. Earlier on November 18, four Indian Army personnel and two civilian porters were killed in an avalanche in the northern part of the Siachen Glacier. The Siachen Glacier at the height of around 20,000 ft in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.

Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during winters with temperatures often dropping to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius. The region has witnessed intermittent skirmishes for decades, but more soldiers have died from the harsh weather than combat at the world's highest battlefield. In 2017, at least 24 people, including 20 soldiers, were killed in a series of avalanches, while in 2012 a massive avalanche in Siachean adjacent to Azad Kashmir martyred 140 people, including 129 soldiers.