Pune: A 35-year-old army havildar, Subhash Lala Karade, from Satara district died in a fire that broke out in a tent at the height of 12,000 feet at Tenga valley in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday night.
Another soldier received minor injuries in the fire. The army has ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI) to find out the reason behind the incident, a senior army officer privy to the case told TOI over phone from Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday.
"Currently, the temperature in the valley has gone down to minus degrees Celsius. As a result, the soldiers deployed at high altitude use wood burning stoves (bukhari) to stay warm. The fire broke out inside the tent where Karade and other soldiers had lit a bukhari. Karade was badly injured, while his fellow soldier escaped with minor injuries," the officer said.
The tent was barely 300m from the unit hospital. But, the soldier succumbed to his injuries before he could be taken to the hospital. "Since the soldier was deployed at high altitude for operational purpose, the army has declared him as a battle casualty," the officer said.
Karade was from Karadwadi village in Khandala tehsil of Satara district, around 120km from Pune. He had completed his school education from New English School at Andori in Satara and graduated from a college in Lonand in the same district. He had joined the army in 2001. He was the first from Karadwadi to join the army.
"The family's financial condition used to be weak. Karade's father would support the family by working as a labourer. After completing his education, Karade joined the army and the financial status of the family improved. He also constructed a house in the village," Subhash's friend, Prakash Karade, told TOI over phone from Karadwadi
"Karade had inspired the youth of the village to pursue career in the army. He would guide them how to prepare for army recruitment exams. Under his guidance, eight youths joined the army in the last one decade," Prakash said. "He also helped the village by pursuing developmental projects with the district authorities," he added.
Satara Sainik Welfare Department head Col RR Jadhav (retd) said the soldier's mortal remains will be brought to the village on Monday morning via Pune.
He added that the villagers have decorated a vehicle to keep his mortal remains and bring out a rally before the cremation.
Karade is survived by his parents, brother, wife and children. His brother is working with state transport department.
Another soldier received minor injuries in the fire. The army has ordered a Court of Inquiry (CoI) to find out the reason behind the incident, a senior army officer privy to the case told TOI over phone from Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday.
"Currently, the temperature in the valley has gone down to minus degrees Celsius. As a result, the soldiers deployed at high altitude use wood burning stoves (bukhari) to stay warm. The fire broke out inside the tent where Karade and other soldiers had lit a bukhari. Karade was badly injured, while his fellow soldier escaped with minor injuries," the officer said.
The tent was barely 300m from the unit hospital. But, the soldier succumbed to his injuries before he could be taken to the hospital. "Since the soldier was deployed at high altitude for operational purpose, the army has declared him as a battle casualty," the officer said.
Karade was from Karadwadi village in Khandala tehsil of Satara district, around 120km from Pune. He had completed his school education from New English School at Andori in Satara and graduated from a college in Lonand in the same district. He had joined the army in 2001. He was the first from Karadwadi to join the army.
"The family's financial condition used to be weak. Karade's father would support the family by working as a labourer. After completing his education, Karade joined the army and the financial status of the family improved. He also constructed a house in the village," Subhash's friend, Prakash Karade, told TOI over phone from Karadwadi
"Karade had inspired the youth of the village to pursue career in the army. He would guide them how to prepare for army recruitment exams. Under his guidance, eight youths joined the army in the last one decade," Prakash said. "He also helped the village by pursuing developmental projects with the district authorities," he added.
Satara Sainik Welfare Department head Col RR Jadhav (retd) said the soldier's mortal remains will be brought to the village on Monday morning via Pune.
He added that the villagers have decorated a vehicle to keep his mortal remains and bring out a rally before the cremation.
Karade is survived by his parents, brother, wife and children. His brother is working with state transport department.
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