Funeral prayers offered for army personnel martyred in Siachen avalanche

ISLAMABAD: Funeral prayers for three of the five Pakistan Army personnel, who went missing in Siachen, were offered on the Gilgit helipad on Monday.

The army personnel lost their lives when an avalanche hit their army base in the world’s highest battleground, Siachen on December 30, 2017. The martyred army officers belonged to the Gilgit-Baltistan areas of Hunza and Ghizer.

Forces Commander Northern Area Major General Saqib Mehmood also attended the funeral along with top civil-military leadership. At least five army personnel on Saturday went missing after an avalanche hit an army base in world’s biggest battleground, Siachen.

A rescue operation in the area has been started by the Pakistan army with the help of locals. Heavy machinery has also been sent to accelerate the rescue operation. However, the army has still not confirmed any casualties.

In February last year, ten Indian soldiers were hit by an avalanche at the northern Siachen Glacier. While another four soldiers were killed by an avalanche in January last year, while in the previous year another four died when their vehicle was buried under an avalanche near Leh, the main city in the high-altitude region known as Ladakh.

Avalanches and landslides are common at the Siachen Glacier during the winter and temperatures there can drop as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.

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.

At least 135 people, including 124 servicemen and 11 civilians, went missing in 2012 after an avalanche hit them at Gayari sector near Siachen Glacier.