Gayari incident: Search for 7 bodies continues, says Kayani

Kayani addresses memorial service held in the honour of 140 people who were buried under an avalanche on April 7, 2012

SIACHEN: Pakistan Army is still working to recover the remaining seven bodies buried in Siachen’s Gayari sector, Army Chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani said on Wednesday.

Kayani was addressing a memorial service held in the honour of 140 people of the northern light infantry battalion, who were buried under an avalanche that had hit the military base in the sector on April 7, 2012.

Those buried included 129 soldiers and 11 civilian employees.

Speaking to the families of the victims and army personnel, Kayani said the soldiers are determined to find and hand over the remaining bodies to their loved ones.

Commenting on the enormity of the task, the army chief said we took up the challenge despite experts telling us it will be a difficult task and may take years.

He thanked army personnel, NADRA officials and all those involved in the recovery work.

Over 300 military personnel along with technical experts had been working on the site.

The Gayari incident has led to the renewed calls for the resolution of Siachen dispute between Pakistan and India. Since the conflict began in 1984, more than 2,000 soldiers from both sides have died, mostly due to hostile weather conditions.
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