Siachen Glacier: How Lance Naik Hanumanthappa survived the avalanche of death?

Survival in Siachen by itself is considered a tedious task. The jawans deployed in the region fear death arising due to the scathing climate rather than assault launched by the enemies on either sides of the border.

Updated: February 9, 2016 4:52 PM IST

By Mohammed Uzair Shaikh

Siachen Glacier: How Lance Naik Hanumanthappa survived the avalanche of death?

New Delhi, Feb 9: In a miraculous survival, Lance Naik Hanumanthappa was extradited from 25 feet deep snow. After being buried beneath the ice wall for six days, reeling under the temperature of -25 to -40 degree celsius, Hanumanthappa was found by the rescue team who heard his faint pulse. After hours of cutting through the ice wall, a pavement was made to pick him up. Immediately, Hanumanthappa was flown to Delhi where he was admitted in Army’s RR Hospital.

The unfortunate incident occurred on February 3 when an ice wall came crashing down on Hanumanthappa and nine other of his colleagues. The ice wall is measured to be 1 km long and nearly 800 metres wide. After six days of ice-chipping operation undertaken by the rescue team, the mortal remains of six other soldiers were found. Initially Hanumanthappa was also assumed to be dead. However, on hearing h is pulses, the the jawans immediately informed the BSF, which arranged for a chopper late in the night to bring the soldier to New Delhi. (ALSO READ: Siachen soldier found alive is critical)

What makes survival in Siachen a tedious task for soldiers posted in the ice-cold region?

Survival in Siachen by itself is considered a tedious task. The jawans deployed in the region fear death arising due to the scathing climate rather than assault launched by the enemies. The temperature in the region remains as low as 0 to -25 degree celsius in summers, whereas, in winters, the temperature further dips to -45 degree celsius.

Army training and exercises of the jawan is conducted in an extremely careful manner in order to ensure that they do not sweat. If perspiration does occur, the sweat on the body quickly turns into ice which leads to skin infections.

Body ache is common, with several instances of paralytic disorders reported from the region. At times, the regions turns white out due to extremely high snowfall and ice walls in the region. It leads to physical and mental illness. Over the years, number of depression cases have also been reported.

For survival, the soldiers need fresh vegetables, meat and chicken in order to maintain high calories and protein in the body. Food is procured from Chandigarh. However, food procurement round the year remains a challenging task.

Maintenance of accurate amount of body heat is essential to ensure that the soldiers do not suffer fluid accumulation in the lungs. Fluid collects in air sacs causing difficulty to breathe.

Siachen remains an area of utmost strategicial importance to India, Pakistan and China. The glacier is located in the northern part of Indian-administered Kashmir, borders on the west with Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) and on the east with China’s Xinjian regions. India fears aggression from either of its neighbours and therefore could not risk demilitarizing the region.

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