Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Feb 9: Avalanche rescue teams of Army last night rescued a soldier who was buried under 30 feet of snow for six days and recovered nine bodies of other soldiers including that of a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) who were buried under an avalanche last week at Siachen Glacier.
Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad was found alive by Army’s avalanche rescue teams last night. He was evacuated him to nearby helicopter base wherefrom he was taken to Indian Air Force Air base and was this morning airlifted to Delhi’ s Research and Referral hospital. He is said to be in coma and doctors attending him say that next 48 hours are crucial for Koppad.
For six days, Koppad was buried under 25 feet of ice in temperatures around minus 50 degrees Celsius along with other soldiers whose bodies were also recovered in the same spot.
Koppad was found by an avalanche rescue team of Army in the fibre hut where they were living and was buried under avalanche. He was unconscious at the time of rescue with a pulse so weak that it was barely detectable. However, an Army doctor, part of the rescue team at the Sonam post managed to revive the soldier.
Army rescue teams also recovered bodies of Subedar Nagesha TT of village Tejur, Hassan in Karnataka, Havildar Elumalai M of village Dukkam Parai, Vellore district of Tamil Nadu, Lance Havildar S Kumar of village Kumanan Thozhu, Teni district of Tamil Nadu, Lance Naik Sudheesh B of village Monroethuruth, Kollam district of Kerala, Sepoy Mahesha PN of village HD Kote, Mysore district, Karnataka, Sepoy Ganesan G of village Chokkathevan Patti, Madurai district of Tamil Nadu, Sepoy Rama Moorthy N of village Gudisatana Palli , Krishna Giri district in Tamil Nadu, Sepoy Mustaq Ahmed S of village Parnapalle, Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh and Sepoy Nursing Assistant Suryawanshi SV of village Maskarwadi, Satara District of Maharashtra.
Lieutenant General SK Patyal of Leh based Army’s 14 Corps said that finding the soldier was nothing short of a miracle. “A wall of snow as thick and hard as concrete had fallen on them. The operation was extremely difficult. The rescue team could not work more than 30 minutes at a time”, he said.
“The rescue, involving heavy equipment that had to be assembled at the top, and dogs, became particularly challenging because the snow had turned into hard chunks of ice. In temperatures between minus 40 and 25 degrees, rescue teams had to battle frequent blizzards and work through low visibility”, said Lt Gen Patyal.
Ten Army men including JCO were buried under an avalanche that struck their post at an altitude of 19600 feet on Siachen Glacier on February 3. Army and Air Force immediately launched an operation to rescue them.
This is the second avalanche tragedy this year. On January 3, four Army personnel were killed after their patrol party was hit by an avalanche at Siachen Glacier of Ladakh.
More soldiers have died at Siachen due to the weather and difficult terrain than in battle. At least 869 officers and soldiers have been killed there since 1984.
The Health bulletin issued by Army Hospital Research and Referral (R&R) in New Delhi today said that Lance Naik Koppad is extremely critical. “L/Nk Hanamanthappa K of 19 MADRAS, was buried under 35 ft of ice and snow at 20500 ft for five days since the avalanche at Siachen on Feb 3, 2016. He was rescued from the site on Feb 8. On recovery, he was found to be conscious but drowsy and disoriented”, reads the bulletin.
“He was severely dehydrated, hypothermic, hypoxic, hypoglycemic and in shock. He was immediately resuscitated by the doctors at the site, who had been there for the past five days in the hope of a survivor”, the Health Bulletin reads.
The Bulletin further reads: “He was treated with warm intravenous fluids, humidified warm oxygen and passive external re warming. He was flown out from the site on Feb 9 by helicopter along with a Medical Specialist to the Siachen base camp, from where he was brought to the Thois air base. He was then transferred to Delhi by a fixed wing aircraft of the IAF along with a Critical Care Specialist of the IAF and Medical Specialist from the Siachen Base Camp.”
“He is currently comatose and continues to be in shock with low blood pressure. He has pneumonia and his investigations have revealed liver and kidney dysfunction. Fortunately there was no cold exposure related frost bite or bony injuries to him. He is being treated by a team of intensivists, neurologist, nephrologist, endocrinologist and surgeons. He has been treated with fluids, drugs to bring up his blood pressure and antibiotics. He has been placed on a ventilator to protect his airway and lungs in view of his comatose state. He remains extremely critical and is expected to have a stormy course in the next 24 to 48 hrs due to the complications caused by re warming and establishment of blood flow to the cold parts of the body”, the Health Bulletin reads.
A Defence spokesman said here: “The rescue operations which were launched at Siachen to locate and retrieve the 10 soldiers buried under more than 30 feet of snow and ice after an avalanche stuck their Post in the early hours of February 3, is in progress. It is to the credit and dogged determination of the rescue teams which were working under extreme conditions that they have managed to extricate Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad alive from under more than 30 feet of snow. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad has exhibited a super-human feat by surviving for six days buried under snow. He has been evacuated by air to Army Research and Referral Hospital, Delhi for expert medical care. It is with deep regret that we wish to confirm that mortal remains of balance of nine martyrs including a Junior Commissioned Officer were also retrieved by the rescue teams. The mortal remains, after due formalities, will be flown to their home towns as soon as possible.”
PTI adds from New Delhi:-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hailed Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, who was miraculously found alive after remaining under a huge mass of snow for six days at Siachen Glacier, saying he is an “outstanding soldier” whose “endurance & indomitable spirit” cannot be described in words.
Modi went to Army’s Research and Referral Hospital here to see Hanamanthappa soon after he was airlifted from Siachen and prayed for his best.
“No words are enough to describe the endurance & indomitable spirit of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa. He is an outstanding soldier,” he tweeted.
“Team of doctors is attending to Lance Naik Hanamanthappa. We are all hoping & praying for the best,” Modi added.
The Lance Naik was flown here from Siachen Glacier this morning in a special air ambulance and admitted to the Research and Referral Hospital.
His condition is critical and is undergoing various tests in the hospital, Army sources said.
Just before visiting the hospital, the Prime Minister tweeted: “Going to see Lance Naik Hanamanthappa, with prayers from the entire nation.”
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