Buried alive: Siachen avalanche kills at least six Indian soldiers

Search for missing seventh soldier continues, according Indian Army official.

MIRPUR: At least six Indian soldiers were killed on Sunday after their outpost at the Siachen Glacier was swept away by an avalanche just before dawn.

Reports from the other side of the Line of Control revealed that the avalanche struck an Indian Army forward post at Siachen’s Turtuk sub-sector at 6:15am on Sunday, burying seven soldiers alive.

“Rescue operations were launched immediately and so far six bodies have been recovered,” Indian Army spokesperson Lt Col JS Brar told AFP, adding that the rescuers were still searching for the seventh soldier.

Earlier, on April 7, a massive avalanche in Siachen’s Gyari sector killed 129 Pakistani soldiers and 11 civilian contractors.



An estimated 8,000 troops have died at what is dubbed “The world’s highest battleground” since 1984, almost all of them from avalanches, landslides, frostbite, altitude sickness or heart failure rather than combat. Thousands more from both nations endure bitter conditions on the glacier due to the long-running territorial dispute.

(WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM AFP)

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th, 2012.