A search and rescue team on February 8 recovered the bodies of seven soldiers who went missing on February 6 after an avalanche near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Eastern Himalayas.
Lt. Col. Harsh Wardhan Pande, the Defence spokesperson based in central Assam’s Tezpur, said the bodies of the Army personnel from the 19 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles were located at an altitude of 14,500 ft above sea level.
“The area had been witnessing inclement weather with heavy snowfall since 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,” he said.
Search and rescue operations, including airlifting specialised teams, had been launched immediately after the avalanche struck the Mummy Head area in the Tawang district where the soldiers were patrolling in sub-zero conditions.
Mummy Head is about 35 km from Jangda Basti, the nearest village under the Jang police station. A local police team had also helped in the search and rescue operations.