Operations by the specialised teams (above) of the Army and the Air Force to search for the bodies of the soldiers hit by an avalanche in Siachen. IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha (below) lays wreaths on the coffins of the soldiers who died in the avalanche. (Photo: PTI )
Operations by the specialised teams (above) of the Army and the Air Force to search for the bodies of the soldiers hit by an avalanche in Siachen. IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha (below) lays wreaths on the coffins of the soldiers who died in the avalanche. (Photo: PTI )
The 19 Madras, recipient of Army Chief commendation for operational achievements in the Northeast and GOC-in-C Northern Command for the same in Jammu and Kashmir, had recently moved into Siachen. On January 2, 2016, one of this battalion’s detachments which occupied Sonam post at 20,500 feet altitude and just below the famous Bana Top post, the highest in Siachen, comprised Subedar Nagesha T.T., Havildar Elumalai, Lance Havildar S. Kumar, Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, Lance Naik Sudheesh B., Sepoy Mahesha P.N., Sepoy Ganesan G., Sepoy Rama Moorthy N., Sepoy Mustaq Ahmed and sepoy nursing assistant Suryawanshi S.V..
On February 3, 2016, a huge wall of ice, about 1,000 metres long, 800 metres wide and 25 to 30 feet thick, fell from an avalanche on this post, trapping all 10 personnel of this detachment. Massive ice boulders, some the size of a small room, had covered the post. Most of this was blue ice, almost as hard as concrete.
The average temperatures here are about minus 25 degrees Celsius by day to minus 45 degrees Celsius during night. Over 200 soldiers carrying loads of over 40 kg each, including rock drills, electrical saws, specialised equipment, survival rations and personal gear began digging. As an officer described it, “Through snow blizzards, spine-chilling cold and great personal risk, they cut, drilled, sawed and dug through tonnes of ice and snow. Through night and day, six days in a row, they kept at it, throwing everything they had into it. Chances of finding a survivor in an avalanche, go down to approx 20 per cent within three hours. In six hours, that possibility goes down further to one per cent. But that didn’t daunt or shake the resolve of these 200 odd men. For them percentages and probabilities did not matter. What mattered was that 10 of their own were trapped under those sheets of ice and they had to be pulled out.” Overseeing the digging throughout those six days, Col. U.B. Gurung, commanding officer, 19 Madras, did not budge from the scene despite medical advice. For him, it was a rare repeat of being at the Sonam Post, where he was deployed in the 1990s as a young rifleman serving in 3/1 Gorkha Rifles.
Over 200 men fantically digging away needed massive back-up. At these heights, a Chetak helicopter can carry just one to two jerry cans of fuel or kerosene at a time. The fuel and kerosene required to light up the area, operate the specialised equipment, like radars and power communication equipment etc., would require hundreds of flying hours. The logistics chain necessitated fuel, equipment, rations, standby troops, medical support and weather warning radars. Even by the most modest estimate, it amounts to tens of thousands of man hours over a six day period. “All this to rescue 10 men, who by every acknowledged line of reasoning, rational or otherwise stood no chance of surviving. But they did and pulled Hanumanthappa out. This is the reason that officers and men of the Indian Army throw themselves willingly into harm’s way when the occasion demands. Because they know that no matter what, their mates shall come after them if they were to fall. This is the reason my chest swells with pride today. This is why “Naam, namak, nishaan” are virtues worthy enough to live and die for”, stated the officer.
Lance Naik Hanumanthappa was evacuated to Army Hospital Research and Referral, Delhi Cantt. The whole nation hoped and prayed for his recovery and many ordinary citizens offered kidney donations, but owing to multiple organ damage/failure, he died on February 11, 2016.
The mortal remains of all the other nine personnel (8 of 19 Madras and one of Army Medical Corps) who died in the avalanche could not be moved out owing to continuing inclement weather till February 14. On February 15, the mortal remains were flown by the IAF to Delhi, where tributes were paid and then flown off to five states to deliver them further to their family destinations.
Last month, four soldiers of 3 Ladakh Scouts were killed when their patrol party was hit by a massive avalanche in the Ladakh region of J&K. On April 7, 2012, the worst-ever in the area near Siachen Glacier hit a base in Gayari Sector, trapping 129 soldiers and 11 civilian contractors under deep snow.
It is following this tragedy that then Pak Army Chief Gen A.P. Kayani proposed a “peace initiative”, which really aimed at India vacating the very tactically and strategically advantageous Saltoro Ridge. A brief background is relevant.
Siachen, meaning the place of roses, is the name of one of the five largest glaciers in the East Karakoram of the Northern Himalayas at an average altitude of 5,400 metres (17,700 feet) above sea level and approximately 35.5° N-76.9° E. The roots of the conflict over Siachen lie in the Western side on the map — beyond NJ9842 — not being demarcated. Both the 1949 Karachi Agreement and the 1972 Simla Agreement presumed that it was not feasible for human habitation to survive north of NJ 9842.
The Pakistan Army’s occupation of the area in 1984 changed all that. Owing to Pakistan’s cartographic claims, on the ground “creeping” by patrols and expeditions and knowing the Pak Army’s history of not honouring any agreement and grabbing Indian territory, the Indian Army was constrained to occupy the Siachen glacier in March 1984.
On the issue of demilitarising Siachen, Lt. Gen. Mukesh Sabharwal, a veteran with wide experience of Siachen/J&K, told this newspaper: “What if the agreement is flouted and the positions are occupied by the Pakistan Army Proponents advocating adequate safeguards in the agreement to include punitive action, if the aggrieved nation so desires, should note that in practice, punitive action is easier said than done, more importantly generating the political will to authorise it... Just one factor having an overarching impact on resolving the Siachen problem, is mutual trust or rather, the lack of it. Starting with Pak Army/ISI’s proxy war in 1989, illegal occupation of Kargil heights in 1999, and ISI’s alleged role in a number of terrorist attacks in India would make an exhaustive list. The attacks on the Parliament and Mumbai 26/11 are bitter reminders. Pakistan’s military continues providing financial and moral support to terrorist groups and is unwilling to expel terrorism from its soil Vacating the Glacier is not advisable for India unless Pakistan agrees to authenticate the Actual Ground Position Line”.
Meanwhile, the 10 unfortunate defenders of Sonam post and all ranks of 19 Madras and others involved in the rescue and recovery operation, add to a long list of India’s real heroes.
(The author, a retired Army officer and strategic analyst, was commissioned into 19 Madras)
