Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 14: An Army Captain lost his life while 15 other soldiers were rescued after an avalanche struck a patrol party in Siachen Glacier in Ladakh sector.
“A patrol party of Army came under an avalanche in southern area of Siachen Glacier yesterday,” Udhampur-based Defence spokesman Colonel S D Goswami said today.
A rescue operation was launched immediately and 15 soldiers were saved, he said.
Regimental Medical Officer Captain Ashwini Kumar could not be saved and his body was retrieved from under the avalanche, he said.
Capt Kumar, from 3 Ladakh Scouts, was a bachelor and hailed from Patiala in Punjab.
General Officer Commanding of the Army’s Northern Command Lt General D S Hooda has expressed grief over the loss of the officer, he said.
The spokesman said the Army Commander has conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family.
Meanwhile, Army Captain Ashwani Kumar was cremated with full military honours at Patiala.
The cremation was attended by people from all walks of life. Army officials gave a rifle salute by firing several rounds in the air in honour of the soldier.
Born on August 27, 1989, Captain Kumar, a bachelor, completed his MBBS from Government Medical College, Patiala, and was commissioned into the Army on January 6, 2015.
Though Captain Ashwani Kumar had made it to the Indo-Tibetan Borden Police and Railways Department as well, he had chosen the Army.
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