Himalayan avalanche kills seven Indian soldiers near border with China

Spokesperson says bodies of all seven individuals have been recovered

MUMBAI:

A Himalayan avalanche killed seven Indian soldiers in the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh near the China border, a defence ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

The avalanche struck in the Kameng region on Sunday.

"Search and rescue operations have now been concluded. Bodies of all seven individuals have been recovered from the avalanche site," Lieutenant Colonel Harsh Wardhan Pande, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence in the northeast, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Kameng region is at an altitude of 14,500 feet and had seen heavy snowfall in the last few days, he said.

After several border standoffs in the past few years soured ties with bigger neighbour China, India has intensified patrols in Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas and also stepped up construction of roads and tunnels. Arunachal shares a border with Tibet.