Two soldiers killed in avalanche at Siachen

A PATROL OPERATING AT AN ALTITUDE OF 18,000 FEET IN SOUTHERN SIACHEN GLACIER WAS HIT BY AN AVALANCHE, ARMY SPOKESMAN SAID

SRINAGAR: Two soldiers were killed after an avalanche hit their patrol in the southern Siachen glacier in Ladakh on Saturday morning.

Army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia said that an army patrol operating at an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet in southern Siachen glacier was hit by an avalanche.

“An Avalanche Rescue Team (ART) following the patrol immediately rushed and managed to locate and pull out all members of the patrol. Simultaneously, army helicopters were pressed into service to evacuate the avalanche victims,” Kalia said.

He said that despite best efforts by the medical teams, two personnel succumbed.

This is the second such incident in Saichen over the last two weeks.

Earlier on November 18, four 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.