The avalanche, triggered by a mild earthquake, hit an army post located at an altitude of 17,500 feet in Kargil sector at about 2245 hours on March 17 (Thursday), an army officer said on Saturday night.

The two soldiers, who were on surveillance duty, were swept away in the avalanche, the officer said.

Immediate rescue operations were launched and one soldier was rescued, he said, adding, the second soldier is still missing.

The rescued soldier is medically stable and recovering.

Operations to rescue the missing soldier are underway in spite of the adverse weather conditions, he said.

As of 11 am on Sunday, the missing solider is yet to be rescued. 

This is the second such incident in the recent past. 

On February 3, an 800 x 400 ft wall of ice broke off and buried an Indian Army post on the Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. The debris, including massive boulders of ice the size of a small room, were spread over 800 x 1000 metres.    

Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad, who was buried under tonnes of ice at 19,500 ft on the Siachen glacier for six days, miraculously survived. However, despite being airlifted to Delhi and undergoing treatment, he passed away a few days later. 

Here’s how Twitter reacted to news of the avalanche: