2 Army Personnel Die as Avalanche Hits Southern Siachen Glacier

An Avalanche Rescue Team rushed and managed to locate and pull out the team, but the two couldn’t be saved.

Image used for representational purposes. 

(Photo Courtesy: ANI)

Two Army personnel died on Saturday, 30 November, after an avalanche hit their patrol at an altitude of about 18,000 feet in southern region of the Siachen Glacier.

An Army patrol was hit by an avalanche during the early hours of Saturday, Srinagar-based defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said in a statement.

An Avalanche Rescue Team rushed and managed to locate and pull out the patrol team, but the two personnel couldn’t be saved.

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

Army helicopters were also simultaneously pressed into service to evacuate the avalanche victims.

It was for the second time that an avalanche occurred in Siachen in the past two weeks.

Earlier on 18 November, 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.

(With inputs from PTI)