All ranks have extended their tributes to the seven Army personnel who lost their lives in the avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh, an official informed on Tuesday. As stated by the Eastern Command of the Indian Army, “All ranks have offered tributes to the supreme sacrifice of Hav Jugal Kishore, Rfn Arun Kattal, Rfn Akshay Pathania, Rfn Vishal Sharma, Rfn Rakesh Singh, Rfn Ankesh Bhardwaj, and Gnr Gurbaj Singh.”
The seven Army personnel were hit by an avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh’s Kameng sector in Tawang district on February 6 when they were in a high-altitude area. Later, rescue operations were immediately launched by the army prompting a lifting of specialised teams for rescuing the soldiers. Unfortunately, the soldiers could not survive and were “confirmed dead” on Tuesday. Their bodies were recovered from the avalanche site.
In a statement issued after this, the Indian Army stated, “Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, all seven have been confirmed deceased.” Meanwhile, the bodies of the soldiers have been transferred from the site to the nearest medical facility for further formalities.
The Army personnel of the 19 JAK Rifles were part of a patrolling team and were deployed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the area near Mammy Hut when they were hit by the avalanche. The area located at an altitude of 14,500 feet has been reportedly witnessing inclement weather followed by heavy snowfall over the past few days.
Jammu and Kashmir L-G extends condolences
While Ministers and leaders have been extending condolences to the families of the soldiers who lost their lives in the tragic avalanche, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also took to Twitter and expressed condolences to the families of the bereaved Army personnel. “Tributes and condolences to the families of martyrs who lost their lives in a tragic avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh,” he tweeted.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the death of the soldiers on Twitter and said that the nation will never forget the exemplary service of the soldiers. President Ram Nath Kovind called the incident a “tragedy beyond words” and said that the selfless sacrifice will be always remembered.