Bodies of Army personnel dead in Arunachal avalanche recovered

Bodies of seven Indian Army Personnel who were struck by an avalanche in the High Altitude area of Kameng Sector in Arunachal Pradesh were recovered on Tuesday.

The troopers were part of a patrol, and were struck by an avalanche on February 6. Search and rescue operations were launched immediately, including airlifting of specialised teams.

Lt Col Harsh Wardhan Pande, Public Relations Officer, Ministry of Defence, Tezpur stated that search and rescue operations have now been concluded. Bodies of all seven individuals have been recovered from the avalanche site. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, all seven have been confirmed deceased.


“The area, located at an altitude of 14500 feet, had been witnessing inclement weather with heavy snowfall since the last few days. The bodies of the soldiers are currently being transferred from the avalanche site to the nearest Army medical facility for further formalities.” Pande added.

Arunachal chief minister Pema Khandu tweeted, “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives of 7 brave Indian Army Jawans, who were trapped in an avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families on their tragic loss. May God give them enough strength to bear the irreparable loss”.