An army jawan, who was buried under 25 feet of snow following an avalanche in Siachen glacier, was on Monday miraculously found alive in critical condition after six days of rescue efforts.
“It was a miraculous rescue, all efforts are being made to evacuate Lance Naik Hanaman Thappa to the RR hospital in the morning,” said Lieutenant General DS Hooda, Northern Army Commander.
He said, “Five bodies have been recovered so far and four bodies have been identified. All other soldiers are regrettably no more with us.”
He hoped that there would be a miracle with Thappa, who hails from Karnataka.
A Junior Commissioned Officer and nine other ranks of the Madras Regiment were buried after their post was hit by the avalanche at an altitude of 19,600 feet close to the Line of Control with Pakistan.
The army said efforts to locate the bodies of the remaining soldiers will continue.
Army teams have been sifting through the huge mass of ice in the treacherous region, sometimes digging more than 30 feet, to find the soldiers who were buried in the avalanche.
A defence spokesman said reports from the ground indicate the efforts are hampered by frequent blizzards, extreme freezing temperature and low visibility apart from the effects of rarefied atmosphere in such high altitude.