Tragedy strikes Indian army; all 7 soldiers trapped in snow avalanche found dead

New Delhi, Feb 8:  The bodies of the seven soldiers, who went missing after their patrol along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district was hit by an avalanche, have been found, the Indian Army said on Tuesday.

“Bodies of all seven individuals have been recovered from the avalanche site. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, all seven have been confirmed deceased,” it said.

The seven army personnel, part of a patrol, were struck by an avalanche in the high altitude area of Kameng Sector in Arunachal Pradesh on February 6.

The area, located at an altitude of 14,500 feet, had been witnessing inclement weather with heavy snowfall for the last few days.

“The bodies of the soldiers are currently being transferred from the avalanche site to the nearest Army medical facility for further formalities,” the Army said.

The area has been witnessing inclement weather with heavy snowfall since the last few days, the force said.

Arunachal Pradesh is generally divided into the Kameng area on the west and the Rest of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Army’s Eastern Command handles the 1,346-km-long Line of Actual Control including Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

This command has three corps – 33 Corps (Sikkim), 4 Corps (Kameng sector), and 3 Corps (Rest of Arunachal Pradesh) to handle the LAC.