The army found the bodies of 3 soldiers in Ladakh who were buried in snow last year, know how the accident happened in 2023

Bodies of army jawans recovered

Army recovered bodies of 3 soldiers: The Indian Army has finally retrieved the bodies of its 3 soldiers from Ladakh after being buried under snow for months. Four army personnel were martyred due to an avalanche during a mountaineering expedition in Ladakh in October last year. While the body of one soldier was recovered soon after the incident, the other three soldiers were martyred after being buried under the snow. High Altitude Warfare School (HausBrigadier S S Shekhawat, Deputy Commandant of the Indian Army, personally led the search operation. The bodies of the jawans were recovered and handed over to the families of the soldiers with full military honours.

The accident happened in October 2023

The four soldiers, Havaldar Rohit Kumar, Havaldar Thakur Bahadur Ale, Naik Gautam Rajbanshi and Lance Naik Stanzin Targas, were part of a 38-member expedition team from Gulmarg-based High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) which set out to conquer Mount Kun in Ladakh. HAWS is an elite training institute under the Indian Army.

The mountaineering expedition began on October 1 and the team had a target to conquer the peak by October 13. On October 8, a team of four soldiers suddenly got caught in an avalanche while they were trying to fix ropes on the snow wall. The team got caught in the avalanche at an altitude of more than 18,300 feet between Camp 2 and Camp 3 on the Fariyabad Glacier.

The bodies remained buried for almost 9 months

The team made every possible effort to rescue these soldiers but the snow-covered and treacherous terrain and adverse weather posed huge challenges. The body of Lance Naik Stanzin Targas was recovered soon after the incident. The bodies of Havaldar Rohit Kumar, Havaldar Thakur Bahadur Ale and Naik Gautam Rajbanshi were trapped deep in a crevasse. Their bodies were buried under thick layers of snow and heavy ice for the last almost nine months.

How did the army retrieve the bodies of the 3 soldiers?

The Army recovered the bodies after 9 months following the spirit of ‘leave no one behind’. A team of 88 mountaineers of HAWS carried out a mission to retrieve the remains of the three martyred soldiers. The operation began on June 18 and was named Operation RTG.

According to a PTI report, a main camp was set up 40 km from Khumbathang to store specialised mountaineering and rescue equipment, special clothing, kits, tents and food. Two helicopters were also kept ready to carry the bodies of the soldiers and evacuate the rescue team if needed. The rescue team got its first breakthrough when it found the mortal remains of Havaldar Kumar (Dogra Scouts) in about 30 feet of snow and ice crevice on July 4. As the team went 10 feet deeper, it recovered the mortal remains of Havaldar Ale (Gorkha Rifles), Naik Rajbanshi (Assam Regiment) on July 7. The operation ended on July 8.