Ten soldiers went missing after an avalanche hit an Army base in the Siachen Glacier in Ladakh.
The Siachen Glacier which is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains at about 35.421226°N 77.109540°E, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends.
At 76 km (47 mi) long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world’s non-polar areas. It falls from an altitude of 5,753 m (18,875 ft) above sea level at its head at Indira Col on the China border down to 3,620 m (11,875 ft) at its terminus.
Entire Siachen Glacier with all major passes is currently under administration of India since 1984, while Pakistan controls the region west of Saltoro Ridge.
The base is located at a height of 19,000 feet above sea level. Siachen Glacier is the world’s highest battlefield. Avalanches and landslides are common in the area during winter. Temperature here can drop as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit).
An estimated 8,000 troops have died on the glacier since 1984, almost all of them from avalanches, landslides, frostbite, altitude sickness or heart failure rather than combat.Last month, four Indian soldiers on foot patrol were killed by an avalanche in the Ladakh area of the Himalayan region.
while last year another four died when their vehicle got buried near Leh.
And today In the early hours , 10 soldiers were hit as they patrolled a glacier at an altitude of 5,800 metres (19,000 feet) by an avalanche at the northern Siachen Glacier
Rescuers have began searching for the 10 soldiers feared buried in an avalanche in India’s remote Himalayas near the India-Pakistan border
“Ten soldiers, including a junior commissioned officer, went missing after an avalanche hit their patrol in southern side of the Siachin Glacier earlier today ,” a senior army official said.
The Indian Army and the Air Force have been deployed to search for them and do the necessary rescue operations.
