India Offers Prayers For Sole Survivor Of Avalanche Which Killed 9 Soldiers

By M. Santhiran NEW DELHI, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- India is offering prayers for the speedy recovery of a soldier, who is the sole survivor of an avalanche at the treacherous Siachen Glacier, which killed nine other soldiers, near the northern tip of Kashmir. Lance Corporal Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad was miraculously rescued late Monday night after he was buried for nearly six days when their camp, located at an altitude of 19,600 feet, was battered by a deadly avalanche on Feb 3. Early Tuesday morning, the soldier was airlifted from the glacier and admitted at the Indian Army's Reserach & Referral Hospital in New Delhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the soldier at the hospital and doctors briefed him that the 'jawan' (soldier) still in coma and under the support of ventilator. "No words are enough to descripe the endurance and indomitable spirit of Lance Corporal Naik Hanumanthappa. He is an outstanding soldier," said Modi in a press statement issued by his office Tuesday evening. For six days, Hanumanthappa Koppad was buried under 25 feet of ice in temperatures close to minus 40 degrees and Monday night, a search and rescue (SAR) team found him unconscious with a faint pulse in an 'arctic tent'. The soldier was trapped since Feb 3 and so far, the SAR team has stumbled on five bodies. Lieutenant-General SK Patyal, speaking to NDTV news channel said besides braving temperatures between minus 40 and 25 degrees, SAR teams had to battle frequent blizzards and work through low visibility. The Siachen Glacier located at the northern tip of Kashmir is the world's highest and coldest battlefield. More soldiers have died there because of the weather and difficult terrain, than in battle. At least, 869 officers and soldiers have been killed there since the mid-1980s. -- BERNAMA