An army jawan who was buried under 25 feet of snow following an avalanche in the Siachen glacier was on Monday miraculously found alive in critical condition after six days of rescue efforts.
“It was a miraculous rescue, all efforts are being made to evacuate Lance Naik Hanamanthappa to the RR hospital in the morning,” Lt Gen D S Hooda, Northern Army Commander, told PTI. He said, “Five bodies have been recovered so far and four bodies have been identified. All other soldiers are regrettably no more with us.”
Though the soldier is critical, reports on ground have indicated his pulse has raised the spirits of rescue teams who have been trudging through snow day and night.
The survivor Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad is a resident of Dharwad district, Karnataka.
A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and nine other ranks of Madras Regiment 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.
PTI