SRINAGAR: At least nine soldiers and a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) were trapped in snow after an Army post in the world’s highest battlefield Siachen in Jammu and Kashmir was hit by an avalanche on Wednesday.
“In the early hours today, a major avalanche struck an Army post in Northern Siachen glacier located at a height of 19,600 feet,” Army’s Northern Command spokesman Colonel S D Goswami told Express. He said the post was manned by one JCO and nine soldiers.
Goswami said after the avalanche hit their post, the soldiers were trapped under a mass of snow.
“Immediately, the rescue operations were launched by specialised teams of the Army and IAF to rescue the trapped soldiers,” he said. Goswami said the operation was going on till late evening.
He said the rescue operation was being closely monitored from Leh and Udhampur. Goswami, however, refused to either give information about the regiment or name the trapped soldiers.
However, sources indicated that the Madras Regiment was stationed at the incident spot. One post of the Army – a stone bunker – had gone under the glacier. Troops from 19 Madras Regiment, which replaced 25 Rajput, had taken over only a fortnight ago to guard a key post on the world’s highest battlefield.
Army and IAF helicopters, including Cheetah, Dhruv and Mi-17, have been deployed for rescue mission at the post, which is at a height of 19,600 feet.