Ladakh avalanche: Search on for 5 missing personnel

The army on Saturday re-commenced the Khardungla Rescue Operations to search for the five missing bodies of people, who were part of the 12 hit by an avalanche in the Khardung La region of Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh, here on Saturday.

The search operation was launched to rescue the missing civilians who were buried under an avalanche on 18 January near Khardungla Top.

Rescue teams from the Fire and Fury Corps, mustered from the Base Camp and from Shyok Axis of the Siachen Brigade consisting of Avalanche Panther Teams along with avalanche rescue dogs and deep search radars were employed for the search.

In spite of the inclement weather conditions and snowfall in the area, troops of the Fire and Fury Corps have braved the extreme harsh terrain and severe sub zero temperatures and have been carrying out the the daunting task tirelessly with unflinching dedication and devotion.

A command and control center established at Khardungla Top under the aegis of the Fire and Fury Corps has been continuously coordinating the rescue operations round the clock.

GOC Fire and Fury Corps along with Commander Siachen Brigade carried out an aerial assessment of the incident site and issued further necessary directions for the smooth conduct of the rescue operations.

The search and rescue teams were able to extricate the bodies of two more civilians today, thus bringing the total number of bodies recovered so far to seven.