Siachen: In a miraculous case, Army Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad of 19 Battalion, Madras Regiment, was rescued alive from under under 25 feet of snow following an avalanche in the Siachen glacier. The soldier had been buried since February 3 and was dug out by an Army team after six days of rescue efforts on the night of February 8.
However, the nine other soldiers of the same battalion buried under the avalanche have been declared dead. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa hails from Karnataka and is in critical condition.
Lieutenant General DS Hooda, Northern Army commander, said, "In the ongoing rescue operation at Siachen, of the 10 soldiers buried under ice Lance Naik Hanamanthappa has been found alive. Five bodies have been recovered so far and four bodies have been identified. All the other soldiers are regrettably no more with us."
"The medical condition of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa is critical but all attempts are being made to evacuate him to RR hospital in the morning.
We hope the miracle continues. Pray with us," the Lt Gen said.
The rescue efforts were hampered by frequent snow blizzards, extreme freezing temperatures and low visibility apart from the effects of rarefied atmosphere in the high altitude.
A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and nine other ranks of 19 Madras were buried after their post was hit by the avalanche at the altitude of 19,600 feet close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan where the temperature was minus 45 degrees Celsius.
The 10 soldiers buried in the avalanche were Subedar Nagesha TT, Havildar Elumalai, Lance Havildar S Kumar, Lance Naik Sudheesh B, Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, Sepoy Mahesha PN, Sepoy Ganesan G, Sepoy Rama Moorthy N, Sepoy Mustaq Ahmed S and Sepoy Nursing Assistant Suryawanshi SV.
The Indian Army has lost over 850 soldiers in the icy expanse of Siachen, the world's highest and most inhospitable battlefield, since 1984 when it preempted the Pakistani Army from occupying the glaciers and its dominant peaks by just a few hours.
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