2 Indian Army Personnel Killed In Avalanche In Southern Siachen Glacier

Two army personnel were killed when an avalanche hit an army patrol in the southern Siachen glacier sector in the Union Territory of Ladakh on Saturday, officials said. A Srinagar-based defence spokesperson said the Army patrol was operating at an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet in Southern Siachen Glacier when it was hit by the avalanche during the early hours of Saturday.

He said an Avalanche Rescue Team (ART) following the patrol immediately rushed and managed to locate and pull out all members of the team. Simultaneously, 

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.

(With PTI inputs)