GUWAHATI: All the seven Army personnel, who got trapped in an avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday, lost their lives.
Assam’s Tezpur-based defence spokesman Lt Col Harsh Wardhan Pande said the bodies of the victims had been retrieved.
The personnel were part of a patrol. The incident had occurred in the high altitude area of Kameng Sector in the frontier state.
Search and rescue operations were launched immediately, including airlifting of specialised teams.
“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 defence spokesman said.
The area, located at an altitude of 14,500 feet, had been witnessing inclement weather with heavy snowfall for the last few days.
“The bodies of the soldiers are being transferred from the avalanche site to the nearest Army medical facility for further formalities,” the defence spokesman added.