Twelve years on, Pakistan remembers Gayari tragedy

124 soldiers and 11 civilians were trapped under snow after avalanche hit army base near Siachen

 

The twelfth anniversary of the Gyari sector tragedy was observed on Sunday to commemorate and pay homage to the soldiers of the Pakistan Army.

On April 7, 2012, over 100 soldiers and civilians tragically lost their lives in an unexpected and devastating avalanche.

One hundred and thirty-five individuals, including 124 soldiers and 11 civilians, were trapped under the snow at an altitude of approximately 13,000 feet near the Siachen Glacier region, following an avalanche that struck an army base in the Gayari sector.

Read: Gayari tragedy: 133 bodies of soldiers recovered: Gen Kayani

These courageous individuals were silenced and buried under 70 feet of snow on the morning of April 7, 2012, marking it as the deadliest avalanche in the history of the Pakistani military. The avalanche wreaked havoc on the NLI battalion headquarters.

International rescue teams initially deemed the rescue mission impossible. However, the engineer corps of Pakistan Army executed the rescue operation with utmost bravery and professionalism.

Following a year-long search, former Chief of Army Staff General (retd) Ashfaq Parvez Kayani announced on October 3, 2013, that 133 bodies had been recovered. Kayani also acknowledged the unwavering support of the entire nation towards the armed forces of Pakistan in fulfilling their sacred duty of defending the country.

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In memory of the martyrs, a commemorative monument was erected at the highest cliff of Siachen.

"The entire nation remembers and honours the brave soldiers on this solemn occasion," stated the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), in a statement on Sunday.

"The great sacrifice of the Gyari martyrs will forever be etched in our hearts," it concluded.