'There seems to be no loose ends': Parrikar on Siachen avalanche

Disturbed with the loss of ten soldiers, who were buried alive after an avalanche hit an army post in Siachen, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Sunday said there seems to be no loose ends, adding that it was an unpredicted way of nature showing its strength.

"It is an avalanche. These are just unpredicted things by which nature shows its strength. We can't help it. Hope of any survival is very less," Parrikar said.

"Terrain geography of Siachen is such that we lost thousands of soldiers to retain control over it. Though the life-loss is much less in recent years because of improved facilities provided," he added while expressing pain over the unfortunate incident.

Meanwhile, the Army is using heavy ice cutters and radars to locate the bodies of the missing soldiers. However, due to hard ice, the bodies have still not been located.

The avalanche struck an Indian Army post in the Northern Siachen Glacier at a height of 19,600 feet on February 3.

The army post that faced its brunt was manned by one Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and nine soldiers. All ten soldiers went missing after the avalanche.

The Defence Ministry had earlier said the chances of finding any survivors are rare.

Specialised teams of the Army and the Air Force have been deployed to carry out the search and rescue operations in the area, where temperatures range from minus 42 degrees in the night to minus 25 degrees during the day.