In October last year, an avalanche trapped 38 Indian soldiers in Ladakh. The army conducted a rescue operation, saving many soldiers and finding the body of one. However, three soldiers remained missing, buried in the snow. Now, after about nine months, the bodies of these three soldiers, identified as Havildar Rohit, Havildar Thakur Bahadur Ale, and Naik Gautam Rajvanshi, have been found. They were buried under layers of snow in a snowy trench area. A special relief and rescue operation was initially launched to find them, but it was unsuccessful at the time. After about nine months, their bodies have now been recovered from the snow.
Brigadier SS Shekhawat, Commandant of High Altitude Warfare School, led this army mission. Senior army officers involved in the mission said it was the most challenging operation of their lives.
What did the Army Officers In Ladakh Say?
Army officials said they dug continuously for 10 to 12 hours each day over nine days at an altitude of about 18,700 feet. They removed many tons of snow to complete the operation. The harsh weather posed significant physical and mental challenges. Despite these difficulties, the army succeeded in finding the bodies of the three missing soldiers.
The body of one of the three soldiers has been given to his family and he has been cremated. The body of martyr Rohit from Kinnaur district was brought to his home village Taranda, where he was cremated with state honors.
On June 18, ‘Operation RTG (Rohit, Thakur, Gautam)’ was launched to recover the bodies of the missing soldiers. The mission, named in their honor, involved 88 expert mountaineers. A camp was set up 40 km before Khumbathang, with two helicopters ready. The base camp, located at an altitude of 14,790 feet and 13 km from the road, was supervised by Major General Bruce Fernandes, Commandant of HAWS.
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