Excelsior Correspondent/ PTI
NEW DELHI/ SRINAGAR, Feb 5: The Indian Army has deployed specialised earth penetrating radars to locate the bodies of 10 soldiers who were buried alive in an avalanche in the Siachen Glacier.
The radars are being taken to the spot, at an altitude of 19,600 feet, by IAF’s Cheetah helicopters, in a knocked down version.
The indigenous Dhruv helicopters, bigger than the Cheetah, were unable to land there due to lack of proper space.
The Army, meanwhile released the names of the 10 soldiers who were buried alive.
They are: Subedar Nagesha TT from Karnataka, Havildar Elumalai M from Tamil Nadu, Lance Havildar S Kumar from Tamil Nadu, Lance Naik Sudheesh from Kerala, Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad from Karnataka, Sepoy Mahesha from Karnataka, Sepoy Ganesan G from Tamil Nadu.
Sepoy Rama Moorthy N from Tamil Nadu, Sepoy Mustaq Ahmed of Andhra Pradesh and Sepoy Nursing Assistant Suryawanshi of Maharashtra were also among those who were killed in the avalanche early on February 3.
Meanwhile, Vice-President Hamid Ansari has expressed grief over the death of 10 Army personnel in an avalanche on Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir.
“I am deeply grieved to learn about the fatal avalanche in the Siachen involving 10 of our Army personnel,” the Vice President Ansari said in a statement.
“I offer my sincere condolences to the bereaved families of the brave soldiers and officer of the Indian Army,” he said.
The 10 personnel, including an officer, were buried under a mass of snow after being hit by an avalanche on Wednesday at a high-altitude post on Siachen Glacier. The personnel were attached to Madras regiment.
Extending condolences to the bereaved families, the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Dalbir Singh, ordered deployment of additional resources, including radars to reinforce rescue efforts, an official said.
Army and IAF had taken part in efforts to rescue the soldiers, who were trapped under snow after their post was hit by the avalanche at an altitude of 19,000 feet close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.
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