India recovers body of trooper killed in Indian-controlled Kashmir avalanche

Indian military Monday said it has retrieved body of a trooper from among ten missing buried under an avalanche on Siachen Glacier near the Line of Control (LoC) in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

"After intense and exhausting search operations, which have entered sixth day today, rescue parties have hit the camp site and recovered the mortal remains of one martyr," Indian military spokesman Col N N Joshi said.

An avalanche hit a military post located at a height of 5,974 meters on the Siachen Glacier last week, burying alive ten troopers including a junior-level officer.

Though the military immediately pressed in rescue teams including helicopters from air force to trace the missing troopers; however, after failing to locate them for two days, it declared them dead.

Military officials said efforts to trace their bodies were hampered by frequent snow blizzards, extreme freezing temperatures and low visibility in the high altitude.

According to Joshi, a new camp has been established at the location to coordinate the ongoing rescue efforts.

"Rescue teams are cutting through up to thirty feet of ice at multiple locations where our soldiers could be buried," Joshi said. "Probable locations are identified by using specialised equipment. The teams are working round the clock and observing all precautions since the unstable ice and snow in the region could trigger fresh avalanches."

Joshi said efforts would continue until all the bodies of troopers were found.

In 2014, body of a trooper was found 18 years after he was reported missing from the glacier.

Siachen Glacier, considered as the highest battlefield in the world, is at an altitude of 7,000 meters above sea level in Ladakh province of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

On Sunday, India's Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar dismissed suggestions for withdrawal of troops from Siachen.

"The military presence in Siachen is in consonance with the country's security needs," Parrikar told reporters on the sidelines of an international maritime conference in Visakhapatnam city of Andhra Pradesh.

Parrikar described the death of 10 troopers in the avalanche as nature's show of strength to which the government was helpless.

The glacier's treacherous sub zero climate has cost billions of U.S. dollars in military expenditure for India and claimed scores of lives, more due to frostbite and high altitude sickness than combat action.

Pakistan army too occupies part of the glacier.

There have been calls of demilitarization of the glacier from environmentalists, a demand rejected by New Delhi, which occupies major portion of the glacier. Endit