10 Soldiers Missing After Avalanche In Siachen In Ladakh

Sakal Gharelu Ustad

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This news came out more than 10 hours ago. The chances of survival now are almost negligible.

Jai Hind bravehearts.
 

Kshatriya87

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Hope by some miracle they survive and are alive & well. Jai Hind.
 

Bahamut

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It happens a lot there ,hope the are safe.Let us pray for their safety
 

Sakal Gharelu Ustad

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There is no perfect science behind avalanche detection nor they can be made big or small. But there are definitely areas more/less prone to avalanche and that is the reason IA has avoided big fatal incidents like this.

Avalanche can be caused even by sound of artillery and in unintended areas. Only fools will want to try it.
 

Screambowl

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why they have built posts where the area is prone to avalanche?
 

Sakal Gharelu Ustad

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why they have built posts where the area is prone to avalanche?
Yeah..they should hire you for your advice!

Soldiers do not remain inside their post all the time. They have to move around and do regular stuff. Obviously, avalanche prone areas would not have posts, but given it is 30-35 km of ice, things can go wrong here or there.
 

Screambowl

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Yeah..they should hire you for your advice!

Soldiers do not remain inside their post all the time. They have to move around and do regular stuff. Obviously, avalanche prone areas would not have posts, but given it is 30-35 km of ice, things can go wrong here or there.

if you read the news, it says at army base not near bana post. Later they reported during patrol.

Obviously, soldiers are patrolling , but I am talking about post.
 

Sakal Gharelu Ustad

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if you read the news, it says at army base not near bana post. Later they reported during patrol.

Obviously, soldiers are patrolling , but I am talking about post.
Indian media and army news. Take it with a sack of salt.
 

Kshatriya87

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All 10 missing soldiers hit by avalanche confirmed dead at Siachen

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-all-10-missing-soldiers-confirmed-dead-at-siachen-2174002

A junior commissioned officer (JCO) and nine other ranks of Madras regiment were swept away by a massive avalanche at the altitude of 19,600 feet on Wednesday.

Tragedy befell the Indian army on Thursday when all the 10 soldiers, who had gone missing after avalanche buried their post on the world’s highest battlefield of Siachen, were confirmed dead.

A junior commissioned officer (JCO) and nine other ranks of Madras regiment were swept away by a massive avalanche at the altitude of 19,600 feet on Wednesday.

“It is a tragic event and we salute the soldiers who braved all challenges to guard our frontiers and made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty,” said Lieutenant General DS Hooda, General Officer Commanding in Chief (GoC-in-C) Northern Command.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in paying tributes to the soldiers who died in the line of duty at Siachen glacier. "Demise of soldiers in Siachen is very tragic. I salute the brave soldiers who gave their lives to the nation. Condolences to their families", he tweeted.

Indian army said blocks of snow and ice had fallen on the post burying it very deep into the glaciated area. Heavy snow cutters and major equipment have been pressed into service to clear and cut the ice blocks.

The glaciated area presents temperatures ranging from a minimum of minus 42 degrees in the night to maximum of minus 25 degrees during the day.

Indian Army and Air Force have flown specialised teams and equipment to help in the rescue mission on the glacier. Two days on, success eluded the rescuers at the world's highest battlefield prompting the army authorities to finally confirm the death of all the 10 soldiers.

“Operations by specialised teams of the Army and the Air Force have entered the second day today. Specialised equipment was flown in to Leh today morning to further boost the rescue efforts,” said Colonel SD Goswami, defence spokesman at Northern Command headquarters.

Rescue teams are braving adverse weather and effects of rarefied atmosphere to locate and rescue survivors. “It is with deepest of regrets that we have to state that chances of finding any survivors are now very remote,” said Colonel Goswami.

Situated at the eastern tip of Ladakh, Siachen literally means the Land of Wild Roses. Famous as the highest battlefield in the world, Indian Army is holding posts at unimaginable heights across the largest non-polar glacier in the world. Indian Army has lost hundreds of soldiers to weather vagaries, including avalanches and frost bites, in the last 30 years.

Pakistani army suffered humiliating defeat in 1987 when Indian Army led by Honorary Captain Bana Singh captured their “Quaid” post located at 21,153 feet which was later named “Bana” post.

However, for the last 12 years, the 150 kilometer Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) in Siachen, is witnessing calm following the border cease-fire in 2003. Before that the AGPL was a regular battlefield with both armies exchanging artillery and small arms fire to pin each other down.
 

Nuvneet Kundu

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why they have built posts where the area is prone to avalanche?
Sometimes you say things that makes me wonder if your account was hacked by someone :D

The entire area is a glacier, there is no safe zone when you operate in such environments. We are all aware that it is an international conspiracy to overplay India's losses in Siachen to brainwash Indian junta into believing that our Siachen 'adventure' is proving to be too costly for the nation. This itself will break the nation's will to fight there. There is a deliberate attempt whereby I'm seeing media reports of how we are spending crores of rupees to sustain the men at Siachen, how we are losing so many men. It's all done with a goal of making you think 'let's leave this place, it's not working out'.

You can't win any battle if you are so weak willed. If you want to change the status quo then we will have to make sacrifices. Our gains will be directly proportional to the sacrifice we are willing to make. There is no magic formula where we will win wars without losing a single troop.

Indian media deliberately spreads gloom every time our soldier dies or our base is attacked to demoralize the military and civilians at the same time. On the other hand, every death of an Islamic soldier is celebrated as a 'shahadat' in their own countries. It's considered a good deed. They don't chicken out from fights because of attrition. Their media doesn't provoke their gullible population to ask defeatist questions. You have Ajit Doval's photo as DP, have you heard what he says after any soldier dies? "Usne desh ke liye pranon ki aahuti di hai, the nation is proud of hum". One time he was in a running car and he saw media people so he made the driver stop the car to say it.
 
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Kshatriya87

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A tribute. Indian soldiers patrolling at -25°C temperatures in Siachen.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 

Razor

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A tribute. Indian soldiers patrolling at -25°C temperatures in Siachen.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
The thing is, even though they say -25C it is way colder.
The wind chill aka real feel is much lower esp in mountainous areas where the wind is powerful.

I have been at -28C with half the protection and face open/head covered but the wind chill was only around -36C/-37C.
I am guessing the wind chills in Siachen are in the -50C to -60C range, maybe even -70C; these are temperatures that can kill.
 

Screambowl

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Sometimes you say things that makes me wonder if your account was hacked by someone :D

The entire area is a glacier, there is no safe zone when you operate in such environments. We are all aware that it is an international conspiracy to overplay India's losses in Siachen to brainwash Indian junta into believing that our Siachen 'adventure' is proving to be too costly for the nation. This itself will break the nation's will to fight there. There is a deliberate attempt whereby I'm seeing media reports of how we are spending crores of rupees to sustain the men at Siachen, how we are losing so many men. It's all done with a goal of making you think 'let's leave this place, it's not working out'.

You can't win any battle if you are so weak willed. If you want to change the status quo then we will have to make sacrifices. Our gains will be directly proportional to the sacrifice we are willing to make. There is no magic formula where we will win wars without losing a single troop.

Indian media deliberately spreads gloom every time our soldier dies or our base is attacked to demoralize the military and civilians at the same time. On the other hand, every death of an Islamic soldier is celebrated as a 'shahadat' in their own countries. It's considered a good deed. They don't chicken out from fights because of attrition. Their media doesn't provoke their gullible population to ask defeatist questions. You have Ajit Doval's photo as DP, have you heard what he says after any soldier dies? "Usne desh ke liye pranon ki aahuti di hai, the nation is proud of hum". One time he was in a running car and he saw media people so he made the driver stop the car to say it.
Pakistan has a cadre of service called as Information services, Group A. Their basic work is information war. To control the media , to create an image of Pakistan as per their interest in the world through media.

In India, it is the work of journalists, even the Information and broadcasting service lacks such talent , how to use media for India's interest.

I agree, that this area is a glacier, but normally they build posts which are at some height or peak. Avalanche is danger to patrolling parties. High winds, and direct sunlight is danger to the posts at heights. Of course they will not build a post just below a cliff.
 

Bahamut

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why they have built posts where the area is prone to avalanche?
Funny but the are that are avalanche prone cannot be seen or target by pak,plus there are many factors for avalanche like sunlight ,sound ,slope etc and it can happen any where
 

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