NEW DELHI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday expressed grief over the death of ten soldiers of 18 Madras Regiment who were hit by a massive avalanche at Siachen on Wednesday.
“Very sad to know that 10 of our brave soldiers lost their lives in an avalanche in Siachen,” Gandhi said in a tweet.
“My thoughts &prayers are with their families,” he added.
Even while undertaking a massive operation to rescue the soldiers trapped under snow, the Defence Ministry said chances of finding any survivors were remote.
Specialized teams of the Army and Air Force were deployed to carry out the search and rescue operation on the glacier, where temperatures range from minus 42 degrees C in the night to minus 25 degrees C during day.
The avalanche struck an Indian Army post in the Northern Siachen Glacier at a height of 19,600 feet.
The army post that took the brunt of the avalanche was manned by one junior commissioned officer (JCO) and nine soldiers.