Kashmir snow deadlier for Indian soldiers

Is extreme weather deadlier than the enemy for the Indian Army at icy heights of 20,000 feet in Siachen and other hilly terrain of Kashmir? Ten soldiers were killed as two avalanches hit Gurez Sector of Kashmir, an army official said on Thursday.

An avalanche hit an army camp in Gurez sector of Bandipora district near the Line of Control last evening in which several soldiers were trapped, the army official said.

"Rescue teams have so far retrieved Ten bodies from the spot of the incident," the official said.

On wednsday a Major was killed and four soldiers were injured after an avalanche hit an Army camp in J&K's Ganderbal district.

Two Army officers, along with jawans, were at their two shelters when an avalanche struck them at Ganderbal's Sonamarg around 5.45am. While one officer and jawans were rescued, the other officer, Major Amit Sagar of High Altitude Warfare School, died.

"A Major died in this tragedy while four soldiers were rescued alive in injured conditions and were taken to hospital," J&K police said.

Last year on February 3, at least 10 personnel of Madras Regiment went missing after an avalanche hit the northern glacier in J&K. Lance Naik Hanumanthappa was the only survivor who was rescued after five days. The 33-year-old jawan remained buried under 25-30 feet of ice for over 120 hours but survived because of a small air pocket and a lot of grit. However, the braveheart succumbed to injuries at Delhi's R R hospital four days after he was rescued.

A month before the February 3 incident, four more soldiers, part of a patrol party, died after being hit by an avalanche at Siachen.

Though 68 soldiers have died due to Pakistani firing along the border in the last one year, not a single casualty due to Pakistani shelling has been reported at Siachen since the November 2003 ceasefire, according to a source in the Army. However, over 900 soldiers have died in the Siachen region since April 1984 when India's 'Operation Meghdhoot' pre-empted Pakistan's 'Operation Ababeel' to occupy the heights by a whisker.

"Though the Army remains in constant touch with the weather department, avalanches are unpredictable," the source said. The Army has put all safety steps in place but is at the mercy of avalanches and landslides, he said.

Despite the harsh weather taking a toll on the Army, the government doesn't have any plan to withdraw troops from Siachen.