As many as 135 persons including 124 army soldiers and 11 civilians (paid out of def estb) of 6 Northern Light Infantry Battalion came under a huge snow slide early this morning in Gayari sector near Skardu. Snow slide is covering an area of 1 sq kilometer. This battalion headquarter is situated at same place for last 20 years and no incident of this nature has happened. However immediately after the incident Rescue efforts went in on. Sniffing dogs, helicopters and troops on ground are employed on rescue efforts.
At least 240 Pakistani troops and civilians worked at the site of the disaster at the entrance to the Siachen Glacier with the aid of sniffer dogs and heavy machinery, said the army.
But they struggled to dig through some 25 meters (80 feet) of snow, boulders and mud that slid down the mountain early Saturday morning.
Pakistani army spokesman Gen. Athar Abbas said Sunday evening that it was unclear whether any of the people who were buried are still alive. At least 124 soldiers from the 6th Northern Light Infantry Battalion and 11 civilian contractors are missing.
"Miracles have been seen and trapped people were rescued after days … so the nation shall pray for the trapped soldiers," Abbas said in an interview.
Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited the site Sunday to supervise rescue operations.
The US sent a team of eight experts to Islamabad to provide technical assistance, said the Pakistani army. Pakistan will consult with the team to determine what help is needed to expedite the rescue operation.
The avalanche in Siachen, which is on the northern tip of the divided Kashmir region claimed by both India and Pakistan, highlighted the risks of deploying troops to one of the most inhospitable places on earth.
The thousands of soldiers from both nations stationed there brave viciously cold temperatures, altitude sickness, high winds and isolation for months at a time.
Troops have been posted at elevations of up to 6,700 meters (22,000 feet) and have skirmished intermittently since 1984, though the area has been quiet since a cease-fire in 2003. The glacier is known as the world's highest battlefield.
Abbas, the army spokesman, said the headquarters that was buried was located in an area previously believed to be safe. At an altitude of around 4,500 meters (15,000 feet), it is the main gateway through which troops and supplies pass on their way to more remote outposts.
More soldiers have died from the weather than combat on the glacier, which was uninhabited before troops moved there.
Conflict there began in 1984 when India occupied the heights of the 78-kilometer (49-mile)-long glacier. (Dawn)
Amountaineering expert Colonel Sher Khan disagreed. "There is no hope, there is no chance at all," he told AFP.
"You can survive only in the first 5-10 minutes," he said. "The casualties in avalanches occur due to pressure of heavy weight, extreme cold and lack of oxygen." Apart from bulldozers and excavators, chemicals were being used to melt the ice. But due to harsh weather and great height, the rescue work is slow. The victims are trapped in one of the most unforgiving environments on the earth, at an altitude of 15,000 feet in the Karakoram mountain range.
Gen Kayani appreciated the morale and efforts of the troops who were braving harsh weather conditions and inhospitable terrain and directed the commanders to leave 'no stone unturned' to reach out to the trapped troops. He said that the calamity, in no way, should affect the morale of the troops defending their homeland at the world's highest battlefield.
An eight-member team of US experts, meanwhile, arrived in Rawalpindi on Sunday to provide technical assistance in the rescue operation. According to a military statement, discussion will be held with the US team to find out the possibility and nature of assistance required to expedite the rescue operation. Offer of technical assistance from other friendly countries is also being considered. (Express Tribune)
Names of persons buried under snow slide in Gayari sector near Skardu.
| Officers | |
| 1. PA-32596 Lt Col Tanvir Ul Hassan |
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| 2. PA-39548 Maj Zaka Ul Haq |
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| 3. PA-105358 Capt Haleem Ullah( AMC) |
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| Junior Commission Officers | |
| 4. N/Sub Khurshid |
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| 5. N/Sub Didar |
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| 6. N/Sub Malik |
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| 7. N/Sub Iftikhar |
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| Havildar | |
| 8. Hav Rehber |
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| 9. Hav Haji Shafayat |
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| 10. Hav Zakir |
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| 11. Hav Gulfraz |
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| 12. Hav Shah Nawaz |
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| 13. Hav Musadiq |
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| 14. Hav Rustam |
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| 15. Hav Shad |
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| 16. Hav Ghulam Muhammad |
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| 17. Hav Sher Nayab |
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| 18. Hav Ishaq |
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| 19. Hav Tanvir |
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| Lance Havildar / NaiK |
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| 20. L/Hav Mustafa |
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| 21. L/Hav Ghulam Qadir |
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| 22. Nk Ashraf |
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| 23. Nk Sartaj |
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| 24. Nk Mudasar |
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| 25. Nk Jabbar |
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| Lance Naik / Sepoy |
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| 26. Lnk Irshad |
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| 27. Lnk Sami Ullah |
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| 28. Lnk Sharafat |
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| 29. Lnk Mustafa |
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| 30. Lnk Himayat |
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| 31. Lnk Altaf |
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| 32. Lnk Mir Hussain |
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| 33. Lnk Irfan |
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| 34. Sep Ali Zar |
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| 35. Sep Saleem |
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| 36. Sep Malik Riaz |
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| 37. Sep Jamil |
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| 38. Sep Akhtar |
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| 39. Sep Nadir Wali |
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| 40. Sep Israr |
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| 41. Sep Sajid |
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| 42. Sep Naseer |
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| 43. Sep Dildar |
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| 44. Sep Zaman |
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| 45. Sep Irfan Khalil |
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| 46. Sep Waseem |
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| 47. Sep Ehsan |
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| 48. Sep Ashraf |
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| 49. Sep Riaz |
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| 50. Sep Shoaib |
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| 51. Sep Iqbal |
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| 52. Sep Mumtaz |
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| 53. Sep Haider |
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| 54. Sep Mehtab |
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| 55. Zulqarnain |
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| 56. Sep Ghulab Shah |
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| 57. Sep Rehmat Wali |
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| 58. Sep Nadeem |
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| 59. Sep Nafs Ali |
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| 60. Sep Nadeem Hashmi |
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| 61. Sep Qurban |
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| 62. Sep Muhammad Khan |
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| 63. Sep Akbar |
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| 64. Sep Ali Muhammad |
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| 65. Sep Muhammad Ali |
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| 66. Sep Amin |
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| 67. Sep Fiaz |
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| 68. Sep Shakeel |
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| 69. Sep Siraj |
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| 70. Sep Fazal Abbas |
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| 71. Sep Javed |
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| 72. Sep Javed |
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| 73. Sep Sakhi Zaman |
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| 74. Sep Sajjad Kazmi |
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| 75. Sep Fida Hussain |
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| 76. Sep Naeem |
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| 77. Sep Shamim |
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| 78. Sep Zakir |
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| 79. Sep Nisar Hussain |
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| 80. Sep Aurangzeb |
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| 81. Sep Arshad |
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| 82. Sep Sultan |
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| 83. Sep Muhammad Hussain |
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| 84. Sep Nasir |
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| 85. Sep Ilyas |
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| 86. Sep Mukhtiar |
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| 87. Sep Fida Hussain |
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| 88. Sep Zaheer |
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| 89. Sep Naseer |
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| 90. Sep Aftab |
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| 91. Sep Adil |
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| 92. Sep Muzamil |
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| 93. Sep Sarfraz |
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| 94. Sep Shameer |
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| 95. Sep Soba Khan |
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| 96. Sep Abid |
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| 97. Sep Ishaq |
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| 98. Sep Aksar Zaman |
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| 99. Sep Najeeb Ullah |
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| 100. Sep Siraj Ud Din |
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| 101. Sep Jaffar |
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| 102. Sep Ansar |
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| 103. Sep Ishaq |
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| 104. Sep Ghulam Rasool |
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| 105. Sep Muhammad Hussain |
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| 106. Sep Jumma khan |
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| 107. Sep Muhammad Ali |
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| 108. Sep Zakir Kawardo |
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| 109. Sep Ghulam Mehdi |
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| 110. Sep Ghazi Shah |
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| 111. Sep Sana Ullah |
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| 112. Sep Imtiaz |
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| 113. Sep Hameed Ullah |
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| 114. Sep Sadiq Gultri |
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| 115. Sep Gul Daz ( FS Sec) |
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| Clerks |
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| 116. Nk / Clk Ghulam Nabi |
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| 117. Nk/ Clk Ghulam Ali |
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| Cooks |
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| 118. Sep/Ck Muhammad Ali |
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| 119. Sep/Ck Karim |
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| 120. Sep/Ck Ghulam Mehdi |
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| Sweepers | |
| 121. Moon Gul |
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| 122. Asif |
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| 123. Naveed |
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| 124. Ali |
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| Civilian (paid out of defence establishment) | |
| 125. Jalil (Waiter) |
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| 126. Hameed ( Waiter) |
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| 127. Nasrullah (Barber) |
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| 128. Muhammad Ameer (Barber) |
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| 129. Waheed ( Canteen) |
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| 130. Azeem (Canteen) |
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| 131. Sarfraz (Dhobi) |
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| 132. Wali (Dhobi) |
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| 133. Noor Shah ali (Dhobi) |
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| 134. Sabir (Tailor) |
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| 135. Ghulam Rasool (NCB) - Uncfm/Suspected |
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1. 05150932040,
2. 0515590212
3. 03215136525.
A helpline has also been established in Gilgit (Headquarter FCNA). Telephone numbers are:-
1. 05811920181
2. 05811920335.
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