Siachen tragedy: China sends technical devices, personnel to help rescue efforts
A statement released by the Chinese Defense Ministry on Saturday said the Chinese People's Liberation Army also sent specialists to Islamabad to help with rescue efforts. The specialists help to offer technical guidance, reports Xinhua news.
Earlier, Pakistani troops started excavating a new site in their search for 138 people buried by an avalanche at a high-altitude army camp despite a fresh slide in the area, the military said on Saturday.
A week ago a huge wall of snow crashed into the remote Siachen Glacier base high in the mountains in disputed Kashmir early in the morning, smothering an area of one square kilometre (a third of a square mile).
A fresh slide at the same site created difficulties for troops conducting search operations in low temperatures, intermittent snowfall and blizzards, the military said in a statement, without specifying the date of the new slide.
"The rescuers have commenced excavation at a new site, using plant equipment and infantry troops," it said.
"The search teams conducted first level explosion to dig further into hard mass of snow against the tunnel being attempted to access a suspected structure at an important excavation site".
Specialist high altitude teams from the United States, Germany and Switzerland are being sent by road and air to the remote site while units from China and Norway are due to arrive in Islamabad soon.
Search teams are looking for the trapped soldiers and civilians at six different points on the site, around 13,000 feet up in the mountains.
Troops were also attempting to dig a horizontal tunnel at the base of the main excavation site to reach what is thought to be one of the camp buildings.
More than 450 rescuers are working in sub-zero temperatures at the site, though experts have said there is virtually no chance of finding any survivors.
The Chinese armed forces have sent technical devices to the Pakistani army after a request for help in searching for bodies trapped by an avalanche.
A statement released by the Chinese Defense Ministry on Saturday said the Chinese People's Liberation Army also sent specialists to Islamabad to help with rescue efforts. The specialists help to offer technical guidance, reports Xinhua news.
Meanwhile, chief of Pakistani military operations, Major General Ishfaque Nadeem told a press conference in Rawalpindi that specialist high altitude teams from Germany and Switzerland have reached the remote site.
"The six-member German and three-member Swiss teams have reached the avalanche site and are assisting Pakistani rescuers," he said, adding however, that the specialist team from the United States could not be deployed due to bad weather.
He said a Chinese team arrived in Islamabad Saturday morning while a Norwegian team is due on Sunday to join the rescuers.
Nadeem said that rescuers had successfully been able to reach ground level at three points but failed to find anybody trapped there, meaning they were trapped in other places of the battalion headquarters.
COMMENTS (32)
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Like Nepolean said, In the time of crisis two hands ll b eagerly waiting to help u out and those two hands ll b at the end of your own arms.. This is xactly what happens when u depend on foreign aid.. America is more worried abt the weather than abt our buried soldiers.. They hav lunch and fly back.. China ah our forever frnd has to wait for a week before they extend any help.. This delay was to remind us that the soldiers r ours and not theirs.. All other teams behaved in a similar fashion.. We hav to b either self sufficient or eye useless foreign aid that ll eventually leav all our men dead...
A friend in need is a friend indeed. And it took China more than a week to respond to a life and death need of Pak. All the while Pak commentators were defending saying that China doesn't have such rescue capabilities!!
All weather friend China forced to paly catch up the evil Amreeka, which sent it's team to help out Pakistan!
@Godaveri: They did not offer us, we had asked them for help because their technology is more advanced than that of China!
India and Pakistan need to get the boys back from the front! An abnormal behavior.. practice took over 3 decades in Siachen resulting loss of human beings on both side of the Glacier and wasting financial resources which could have been invested in poverty reduction of people living at the foothills of the Glacier.
don't lose hope
@Zaid Hamid: You Moran West has offered help as soon as the incident happened, but it took a week to offer help from your all weather friend. that is how good friend is CHINA.
@ConcerenedCitizen: "And special thanks to the Chinese, who are always by our side!!"
Sure sure. The Chinese were by your side when Mushy started his Kargil adventure. The chinese are not dumb. They know when its convenient for them to be by your side and when its too inconvenient to be by your side like in Kargil. Some people are just incapable of learning anything from experience. But don't give up. Keep on trying.
Typical arrogant Indians, now they blame Pakistan and Muslims for their own act of invading a glacier with their military which started this whole Siachen war.
Indians routinely send their own soldiers to die on Siachen without giving it a second thought, but are very worried all of a sudden over Pakistani soldiers? Have you Indians even stopped to mourn the loss of 14 of your soldiers very recently in an avalanche or is your interest only reserved for Pakistanis?
@ashok: @Arijit Sharma: @Zaid Hamid: How jealous you guys are with Pakistan China relations. God, the venom, the jealousy drips with each word of yours.
Your all time friend Russia is dumping you slowly, you should be more concerned about that.
@Zaid Hamid:
Mianji, Western countries OFFERED their help within hours of the tragedy while there was a real possibility of rescuing those brave soldiers trapped under avalanche; China on the other hand is responding to a REQUEST MADE BY Pakistan army 7 days after death when it is almost certain that the mission is just to recover the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Pakistan, as you are proud to declare, is a NUCLEAR POWER but does not have any device or expertise to have the bodies recovered?
God forbid if there is a real nuclear war, God alone would be the protector of poor citizens and soldiers of poorest nuclear power on the planet.
Power no more comes from the barrel of a gun or religion; it comes form the stupid economy which brings the kafir technology.
@Mohammad Ali Siddiqui, About 10 years ago there was talk of a 'no-war pact' between India and Pakistan. India is all ready for it. Pakistan refused the idea and said such a pact can be done only after Kashmir is resolved. Such a stance sells very well among LeT, JuD and such visionaries. So in essence holding out the threat of war unless kashmir is resolved , by implication, to its satisfaction. Well India cannot stop anyone from grandiose dreams . can it ?
@ashok: Keep on acting high and mighty. It is the true mark of an Indian.
Too little and much too late!
After a week, I have lost hope that there would be any survivor when the avalanche falls under which 138 solders and other people were buried alive last Saturday.
Siachen tragedy is a national tragedy for Pakistan.
Every year uncounted soldiers from Pakistan and India die due to the severely cold and bad weather condition at the peak of Siachen.
People sitting at the helm of affairs of both sides of the borders should think seriously and find an amicable solution by signing a ‘Siachen Treaty’ under which Pakistan and India should recall their armed forces from the peak of Siachen Glacier.
If Pakistan and India can move a step forward to open bilateral trade, why not both the countries reaffirm its commitment that they will not become a threat to each other and will respect each other borders.
By doing so, Pakistan and India will be able to cut their expenses and the saved money can be spent for the welfare of the deceased soldiers and their families.
Due to censorship, news travels slowly in China.
Our thanks to all the countries that are assisting us in the rescue efforts! And special thanks to the Chinese, who are always by our side!!
Now China is sending a team and devices seven days after the tragedy and upon direct request from Pakistan.
So much so from China, the all-feather friend whose friendship is deeper than Indian Ocean and Higher than Himalaya now buried under Siachin Avalanche from the same Himalaya.
zahir u din baber is the only one who face so many challenges and reached to nearby siachen .you can se the live covrage soon on BBC web and TV .very brave man.we will waiting for their good news.ALLAH PROTECT ALL SOLDIER.and retrun them safe and sound.
We Pr oud Pakistani Soldgers.
I love pakistan I love pak army tooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much I pray for them that "Ye ALLAH PAK humare wattan ke mohafizo ki hifazaat farma" aaaaaaaaameen
we are prode of you.
@Ahsan Khan: you are right but i think that there is a strict security concern in that area as I remember one of my friend who once wanted to give coverage to the area during flood and he was stopped by the Pak Army authorities to enter their area. But anyhow , the problem lies more with in our media. They have no rules , they have jungle rules. Anyone can do anything :)))) . they can give coverage to indian actors and hollywood people . But not Pak Army.
Pakistani media please reach at the site and give us live coverage
@Owais: Our media is only interested in covering spicy scandals of our actors and actresses and the shortfalls of our incompetent politicians.. they do not want to reach 13000 feet to cover something they can't see... wait till the army starts finding bodies... that will be more spice for our media... shameless news channels!!
Allah please protect them.
Why isnt there any pakistani media correspondents at the site or in a nearby area reporting the rescue mission. This is the difference between western media/ journalists they r more courageous in there reporting.
i love my soilders and they have to fight a new great battle on schiachin and cargel.