NEW DELHI: Weather struck the world’s highest battleground, Siachen glacier, on Saturday morning, burying over 100 Pakistani soldiers, who were asleep, under snow. An avalanche smashed into a Pak army base in Gayari sector, however, no damage has been reported on the Indian side of the 76 km-long glacier.
Troops from the Northern Light Infantry regiment, trained in mountain operations, were leading the massive rescue operations. According to a Pakistan military statement, rescue efforts are being supported by helicopters and sniffer dogs to locate trapped soldiers. The avalanche hit a battalion headquarters of the Pakistan Army at 5.45 am.
The Gayari sector, is the gateway through which man and material are transported to remote outposts along the glacier. The base is located in a valley between two lofty mountains and has a military hospital in its proximity.
Indian troops were not asked to take part in rescue operation. Indian and Pakistani troops have been sitting eyeball-to-eyeball on Siachen glacier since 1984, when India rushed its troops to preempt Pakistan from occupying the glacier.