New Delhi: At least two soldiers of the Indian Army were killed after an avalanche struck a patrol team operating at an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet in the Southern Siachen Glacier sector in the Union Territory of Ladakh early on Saturday.
"An Avalanche Rescue Team (ART) following the patrol immediately rushed and managed to locate and pull out all members of the patrol," Srinagar-based defence spokesperson Colonel Rajesh Kalia said in a statement. "Simultaneously, Army helicopters were pressed into service to evacuate the avalanche victims."
However, the two personnel succumbed to injuries.
This is the second avalanche in Siachen in the past two weeks. On November 18, four Indian Army personnel and two civilian porters were killed in an avalanche in the northern part of the Siachen Glacier.
Situated at a height of around 20,000 ft in the Karakoram range, the glacier is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where 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 -60 degrees Celsius.
Comments
0 comment