Ten soldiers trapped after avalanche hits army post at Siachen

NEW DELHI: Ten Army personnel were trapped under a mass of snow after an avalanche hit their post in Northern Siachen at 19,600 feet.

An Army official here said specialised teams were rushed along with rescue dog to carry out the search immediately after the incident was reported in the wee hours of Wednesday.

Army Aviation wing and Air Force units have been pressed into service, the official said. “The post was manned by one Junior Commissioned Officer and nine soldiers,” said an official Army statement.

The missing personnel were attached to Madras battalion stationed at the post, which is now buried under tonnes of snow. “The massive Avalanche caused an ice wall to collapse right on top of the post,” the statement said.

The search operations are slated to continue through the night. “It is not easy to conduct search operations in harsh weather areas like Siachen where the temperatures drop to sub-30 degrees, but we will not rest.”