Avalanche traps about 150 Pakistani soldiers

[Safriz]

Press Release
No PR66/2012-ISPR Dated: April 7, 2012
Rawalpindi - April 7, 2012:
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 .

Heavy Engineers machinery have been moved from Rawalpindi by air.

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How did they manage to Airlift Heavy machinery to that height?...

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Pakistan does not have heavy lifting Helicopters , nor do they have ample rescue helicopters its a well known weakness in Pakistan Army that when supplies and man power will be needed that will be our Achilles heel

Lets see how a C130 land in those areas

Another reason why 200 Helicopters are needed if we had dispatched 50-100 helicopters on emergency mission probably would have saved lives , and still not sure if we had heavy lift capabilities

In avalanches , normally fatalities are due to lack of oxygen or frostbite kicking in so you only have window of 20-30 minutes , probably higher rate if the sleeping building was strong enough to withstand things but tents and temporary shelters do not stand a chance ...

Its really being suddenly 8 feet of snow , and you can`t move a muscle once you are under or if inside building can`t open doors or communicate with outside world

 

[Edevelop]

How did they manage to Airlift Heavy machinery to that height?...

I think we must have used C-130 or IL-78 ...

C-130:
33,000 ft (10,060 m) empty
23,000 ft (7,077 m) with 42,000 pounds (19,090 kilograms) payload

IL-78:
12,000 m (39,360 ft)

 

[Safriz]

Just to make sense of it all...Seems like the weather was warm recently and then cooled down abruptly and the area suffered heavy snowfall for some time after that...The snow was lose first and then a thick hard layer of snow accumulated on top of the lose wet snow...And then the most destructive type of Avalanche happened "The slab Avalanche".

Slab avalanches: Most people that die in avalanches, die in slab avalanches. Slab avalanches occur when a more cohesive or harder layer of snow sets on top of a less cohesive or softer and weaker layer of snow. Some times the weak layer can barely support the layers above it and when additional weight like a skier or boarder is added to the upper layers, the weak layer collapses and the snowpack fractures and a slab avalanche occurs.

Slab avalanches often involve large volumes of fast moving snow. Victims like the skiers in the video to the right typically trigger slabs at mid slope below the fracture line which often makes escape very difficult!

The other theory can be that the face of the Glacier fell off in the form of Boulders of Hard ice and a Slab Avalanche followed.

 

[fly2012]

Have been watching the development closely, hope they all can be rescued and re-united with their families.

 

[fly2012]

Have been watching the development closely, hope they all can be rescued and re-united with their families.

 

[darkinsky]

Have been watching the development closely, hope they all can be rescued and re-united with their families.

well actually now if they are being rescued then the chances are very low, very little chance after such lack of oxygen and frost bite etc

 

[NeutralCitizen]

Is Zardari saying anything about this ? the families ? India should offer some help.

 

[blackops]

A person may get a window of 2-3 hours if they are un concious as it reduces the amount of oxygen required by your body lets hope they all are safe

 

[Edevelop]

Hold on. How did the army know that there was an Avalanche that trapped some 100+ soldiers?
How can someone possibly know that specific detail without getting informed.

If those victims contacted them when they were alive then they must have also probably described the coordinates.... Yet again if this is true then why are the rescue teams unable to find anything for more than 14 hours?

 

[IndoUS]

Hold on. How did the army know that there was an Avalanche that trapped some 100+ soldiers?
How can someone possibly know that specific detail without getting informed.
If those victims contacted them when they were alive then they must also probably decried the coordinates....

Well it must have been a large army outpost for it to have 100 and so soldiers. plus its near the border so they must have constant communication with the army HQ so if they loose the communication the army can guess what has happened.

 

[Peregrine]

It has been a very sad day. Can only imagine, how hard it must be for the families, whose loved ones are buried under that tons of snow, but Hope is there and as long there is hope, there is life. My sincere prayers for every one.

 

[VelocuR]

Avalanche traps 135 people near Siachen, rescue operation underway

ISLAMABAD: At least 135 people, including 124 servicemen and 11 civilians, went missing early Saturday after an avalanche hit them at Gayari sector near Siachen Glacier, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

The incident occurred at about 6am at an altitude of about 16,000 feet (4 876.8 meters) and 180 miles northeast of Skardu the capital of Baltistan.

Troops with sniffer dogs, aided by helicopters, were frantically trying to find signs of life in the deep snow after the avalanche engulfed the camp in mountainous Gayari, Siachen, in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir. Heavy machinery has been flown in from Rawalpindi.

A team of doctors and paramedics also rushed to the high-altitude militarised region, which is close to the de facto border with India and where temperatures plummet to minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94F).

“More than 100 soldiers of NLI (Northern Light Infantry) including a colonel were trapped when the avalanche hit a military camp,” army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas told AFP.

He later added that despite hours of searching and contrary to local media reports, no bodies or survivors had been found. An ISPR release also revised the figure to 135 trapped.

“It’s too early to say anything,” he replied when asked about the chances of finding anyone alive after more than 12 hours. “The rescue operation is under way.”

List of names of all those buried under the snow can be found here.

ISPR has provided the following helpline numbers from where relatives of the buried soldiers can inquire about updates:

051-50932040, 051-5590212, 0321-5136525

President, Prime Minister express sorrow, regret

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani expressed deep sorrow and regret over the “unfortunate snow slide” near Siachen.

A statement from the prime minister says that he is in constant contact with the concerned authorities regarding the rescue operation and has said that the incident will not undermine high morale of the soldiers and officers.

President Asif Ali Zardari has also expressed concern over the incident and prayed for the soldiers’ early recovery.

Zardari has directed concerned authorities to expedite the rescue and relief operation to save the lives of those stranded in the snow, adding that all possible options and facilities should be utilised for their safe recovery, including full cooperation and assistance from the civil administration

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has also expressed sorrow over the incident and has asked the nation to pray for the soldiers.

List of names of those buried can be found here.


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It is too early, our official is working hard to find them and inshAllah we will find them out from Avalanches. Pakistan Army know how to be survive despite harsh conditions.

Don't be depressed.....

 

[Safriz]

Hold on. How did the army know that there was an Avalanche that trapped some 100+ soldiers?
How can someone possibly know that specific detail without getting informed.

If those victims contacted them when they were alive then they must have also probably described the coordinates.... Yet again if this is true then why are the rescue teams unable to find anything for more than 14 hours?

the post was there for 20 years so coordinates were known.

we have to realize that a square kilometer of ice and snow cashed upon them and that.weighs about the same as ten aircraft carriers...

they are buried under tens of meters of ice and snow....

no easy task digging them out.

 

[Rafi]

Rescue operations are continuing around the clock, personnel are refusing rest breaks, in their zeal to rescue their brothers.