Riyaz Ul Khaliq
SRINAGAR
With “remote possibility” of finding any survivors in Siachen which was hit by snow storm on Tuesday/Wednesday intervening night, the number of casualties rose up to 883 since 1984.
The casualties include 33 officers, 54 junior commissioned officers and 782 of other ranks.
A snow storm hit Siachen located at an altitude of 19600 feet in the early hours of 3rd February 2016 following which ten army troopers are still missing. The specialized teams of the Army and the Air Force started intense search operations which second day today.
Four army men were killed in Siachen glacier after an avalanche hit their patrol party while Srinagar received season’s first major snowfall, army said on January 04. “An army patrol deployed in the Siachen glacier in Ladakh was hit by an avalanche yesterday while they were on a patrol as part of a route opening party,” Udhampur-based defence spokesperson Colonel S D Goswami had said.
The union government informed Parliament on December 11, 2015 that a total of 869 Army men lost their lives on the Siachen glacier due to climatic conditions and environmental and other factors till date since the Army launched Operation Meghdoot in 1984.
The army on Thursday said that although it launched an intense search operation with special equipment being flown to Leh on Thursday, there “are very remote chances of any survivors”.
The glaciated area presents temperatures ranging from a minimum of minus 42 degrees in the night to maximum of minus 25 degrees during the day. “Rescue teams are braving adverse weather and effects of rarefied atmosphere to locate and rescue survivors. However, it is with deepest of regrets that we have to state that chances of finding any survivors are now very remote,” Udhampur based army spokesperson said this afternoon.
