Army troops hit by avalanche in Arunachal; rescue efforts underway
At least seven personnel of the Indian Army went missing after an avalanche hit the high-altitude area in the Kameng sector in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday, the force said on Monday. A search and rescue operation has been launched to find them. Further, specialized teams have been airlifted to assist in rescue efforts, according to a statement by the Army.
The seven personnel who went missing were part of a patrol team, as per the Army's statement. "The area has been witnessing inclement weather with heavy snowfall since the last few days," said Lt. Col Harsh Wardhan Pande, Public Relations Officer of Ministry of Defence in Tezpur. The Kameng sector is a sparsely populated forested region located at a height of over 14,000 feet.
In Arunachal Pradesh, Daria Hill received snowfall after 34 years while Rupa town in West Kameng district witnessed snowfall after two decades, reported news agency PTI. Other regions like Tawang, Mechukha, and Ziro also saw heavy snowfall over the weekend.
Patrolling in such high-altitude regions is described as risky and the Indian Army has lost soldiers in similar incidents in the past. In October 2021, five Navy personnel had died after being caught in an avalanche on Mt. Trishul in Uttarakhand, where they had gone for an expedition. In May 2020, two Army soldiers had lost their lives due to an avalanche in Sikkim.
In 2019, six Army personnel had died due to avalanches and snow-slides in the Siachen Glacier while 11 others were killed in similar incidents elsewhere, the government said in February 2020. All armed personnel inducted into "high-altitude regions are provided adequate training in mountain craft, ice craft and survival in glaciated terrain in mountains, and in coping with any eventuality like avalanche," it added.
