Six including four soldiers killed in Siachen avalanche

New Delhi: Four soldiers and two civilian porters died after they were trapped in an avalanche on the Siachen Glacier's northern sector on Monday, officials said.

According to the officials, eight personnel were trapped in an avalanche at around 3:00pm. and the Avalanche Rescue Teams from nearby posts were rushed to the location to pull them out.

The rescuers managed to extricate all the eight personnel from under the debris and seven critically injured persons, accompanied by medical teams providing critical care, were evacuated by helicopters to the nearest Military Hospital, where all life saving resuscitative measures were instituted.

Despite best efforts, six persons - four soldiers and two civilian porters - succumbed to extreme hypothermia, officials said.

"The soldiers were part of a patrol. They had been trapped at a height of between 18,000 and 19,000 feet above sea level after they were hit by a snow avalanche," a senior Army official told IANS.

The Siachen Glacier at the height of around 20,000 ft in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.

Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during the winters and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.

On a visit to Ladakh last month, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had announced the reopening of the glacier to tourists.

(With inputs from IANS and PTI)