7 Army Personnel Hit by Avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh Declared Dead

Seven Indian Army personnel, who were part of a patrol team, were struck by an avalanche on Sunday.

File photo of Army involved in rescue operations. It has been used for representation only.

(Photo: IANS)

Seven Indian Army personnel, who were struck by an avalanche that hit Arunachal Pradesh's Kameng Sector on Sunday, 6 February, were declared dead on Tuesday, 8 February, after their bodies were recovered from the accident site, the army said on Tuesday, 8 February.

The soldiers, part of a patrol team, had been missing since they were hit by an avalanche on Sunday.

"Their bodies have been retrieved from the avalanche site," the Indian Army stated, ANI reported.

Condoling the demise of the army personnel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter:

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also expressed his condolences to the bereaved kin of those who lost their lives, and said:

"Deeply pained by demise of Army personnel who were struck by an avalanche in Kemang Sector, Arunachal Pradesh. These brave soldiers lost their lives while serving nation. I salute their courage and service. My heartfelt condolences to their bereaved families."

Rajnath Singh

"Specialised teams have been airlifted to assist in rescue operations," the army had said, as per news agency ANI.

Since the past few days, the high-altitude area has been seeing an inclement weather accompanied by heavy snowfall.

According to PTI, several other high-altitude areas of the state have also been receiving heavy snowfall this month. While Daria Hill witnessed snowfall after 34 years, Rupa town in the state's West Kameng district received snowfall after a gap of two decades.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)