Ladakh: Army recovers 10 bodies in Khardung La after avalanche, rescue operation called-off

Efforts of various rescue teams were finally paid off on Monday after they managed to pull out the tenth body from the avalanche site, which had hit two trucks, in Khardung La of Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The joint military-civil task force carried out relentless search operations in an area extending more than a kilometre, braving the odds against inclement weather, extremely low temperatures and intermittent snowfall. Unfortunately, none of the 10 individuals survived the initial onslaught of the avalanche but the human spirit and hope persisted and the task force continued with its search,” the army said in a press statement.

Khardung La is one of the highest motorable roads in the world at 17,500 feet and it became challenging for the rescue teams to take out the bodies from the snow due to the extreme temperature.

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"The bodies were buried 20 feet deep under debris, nearly 800 metres from Khardungla Top towards south Pullu,''said a defence spokesperson.

Following the recovery of all bodies, the operation has now been called off.

The Indian army had pressed heavy machinery and well-trained troops from the Siachen Brigade into the service.

Initially, five dead bodies were taken out and rest remained buried under the snow. All the bodies were airlifted to Zanskar for their final rights at their native villages.

J&K Governor, Satya Pal Malik has already announced an ex-gratia of 5 lakh Indian rupees for the next of the kin of those killed in the avalanche.