Army soldier missing following avalanche in north Sikkim

NEW DELHI: A soldier was killed while an officer went missing after an avalanche hit a patrolling-cum-snow clearance party of the Army in the Lugnak La area of north Sikkim area on Thursday.
The 18 soldiers from an engineeers regiment were on the road leading to the Naku La area at an altitude of over 17,000-feet, where Indian and Chinese soldiers had clashed on May 9, when “a heavy sudden snow slide” hit them at about 11.30 am.
“While 17 of the soldiers were rescued and evacuated fom the area, the officer could not be traced. One of the soldiers, who was grievously injured, later succumbed to his injuries,” said an officer. The major search and rescue operation launched could not find the missing officer till late in the night.