Hope fading on Siachen troops, Pakistan offer refused

There is now almost no hope of finding survivors from an avalanche that buried 10 Army soldiers, including a junior commissioned officer, at their 19,600-ft Siachen Glacier post in eastern Ladakh Wednesday morning. The Army said finding any survivors is a remote possibility although a desperate search operation was intensified on Thursday, with specialised Army and Air Force teams with sniffer dogs carving through massive chunks of frost.

“Specialised equipment was flown into Leh on Thursday to boost rescue efforts,” defence spokesman Col. S.D. Goswami said in Udhampur. Reports from the Siachen base camp said a kilometre-wide and 600-foot-high wall of snow and ice bore down on the Army camp.

Earlier Thursday, Pakistan’s director-general of military operations Maj. Gen. Aamer Riaz called India’s DGMO to offer help in the rescue efforts. Lt. Gen. Ranbir Singh, the Indian DGMO, declined the offer, saying resources were already in place and outside help was not needed. Army sources said such calls were routine. “We thanked them for the gesture but since our resources and teams are adequate, we said we don’t require any help,” a source said.