Avalanche buries 130 Pakistani soldiers

A race against time is under way to save to save 130 Pakistani soldiers buried today in an avalanche on the 'world's highest battlefield'.
The incident happened early this morning on the Siachen Glacier, a Himalayan region close to India where thousands of Pakistani and Indian troops are based.
A security official said snow engulfed a battalion headquarters in the Gayari district.

(File picture) Pakistani Army helicopter flying in the outskirts of Skardu, near the Siachen Glacier, where 130 soldiers have been buried in an avalanche

Siachen is on the northern tip of the divided Kashmir region claimed by both India and Pakistan.

Both countries station hundreds of troops there, who brave viciously cold temperatures, altitude sickness and high winds for months at a time.


Indian and Pakistani forces, estimated to number between 10,000 and 20,000 troops combined, have been deployed at elevations of up to 6,700 metres and have skirmished intermittently since 1984.
The glacier is known as the world's highest battlefield. But military experts say more soldiers have died from the harsh weather there than combat.

Between 10,000 and 20,000 Pakistani and Indian troops have skirmished on the world's highest battlefield intermittently since 1984. Here, Pakistani Army soldiers with the 20th Lancers Armored Regiment, carry supplies

An army helicopter flies over the Siachen Glacier on Pakistan-India border. An avalanche smashed into a Pakistani army base on the Himalayan glacier near the border with India today

A Pakistani security official keeping guard in the outskirts of Siachen, near the disputed Siachen Glacier, said to be the world's highest battlefield

Muslim-majority Kashmir is at the heart of hostilities between India and Pakistan and was the cause of two of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947.
Both armies remain entrenched despite the cease-fire, costing the poverty-stricken countries many millions of dollars each year.
Helicopters, sniffer dogs and troops were deployed to rescue those trapped, according to a military statement.
The avalanche hit at 5.45am local time, according to a security official.
Army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said: 'At six o'clock this morning this avalanche hit a (military) headquarters.
'Over 100 soldiers and personnel are trapped.'
He added that casualties are expected.
The headquarters in Gayari is the main gateway through which troops and supplies pass on their to other more remote outposts in the sector.
It is situated in a valley between two high mountains, close to a military hospital, according to an officer who was stationed there in 2003.
The officer, who didn't give his name because he is not authorised to speak to the media, said: 'I can't comprehend how an avalanche can reach that place. It was supposed to be safe.'