brahmastra
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Miracle Mission
The massive avalanche that killed 17 army personnel who were training at the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) near Gulmarg last month could have turned into a much bigger tragedy as over 200 soldiers had got buried under the snow. What saved the day was that they were freshly trained in avalanche rescue.
The avalanche, which struck several kilometers north of where the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment had given out a warning for, hit a training camp of the warfare school on February 8, completely burying 222 soldiers, some of them even 12 feet under, in a matter of seconds.
However, within four hours, rescuers with the help of specialised equipment such as snow diggers, scooters and a sniffer dog that was available nearby, managed to extricate 205 soldiers from under the snow, rounding up probably the armys largest ever successful rescue effort.
While a massive rescue effort was launched within minutes of the incident, what saved many lives was the fact that for most soldiers, the avalanche rescue training they had received just weeks prior during the high altitude warfare course, kicked in. The soldiers were in the final leg of the nine-week course on high altitude warfare conducted by HAWS.
The wall of snow came thundering down while soldiers were having a tea break near the Gujjar Hut area. The soldiers were completely unprepared, given that the nearest warning for an avalanche was several kilometers south near the Gulmarg ski resort. A thick line of trees just above the camp hid the approaching snow from the soldiers till it was too late. The worst affected were those who were facing the direction from which the snow came rushing down. With not even a second to react or even hold their breath, close to 20 soldiers who were directly facing the avalanche were completely taken in by the flowing snow. The report says that most of the 17 personnel who died were found to have been facing the direction from which the avalanche struck and died of asphyxia.
For the rest, the repetitive training that had been on for the past several weeks, automatically kicked in. One of the drills that saved many lives was the swimming action that most soldiers resorted to. The action prevented the soldiers from getting deeply buried and brought a lot of them near the surface.
Those who got buried deep under quickly shifted the snow around their face to create air pockets for breathing. This would give them precious minutes of breathing to survive on till rescuers arrived. Others, who kept a cool head, simply stuck out their ski sticks from under the snow that helped rescuers to quickly locate them.
The rescue effort started within moments of the avalanche by troops that had been freshly trained in avalanche rescue tactics. Without wasting time for equipment to arrive, the soldiers used improvised equipment like skis and ski sticks to prod the snow and locate survivors. A rough search pattern, in which groups of five soldiers each swept through the affected area in search of survivors, immediately led to a large number of survivors.
Being a military establishment, specialised equipment like a snow groomer and snow scooters were rushed in from the nearby HQ to assist in the rescue. The groomer, which was used to burrow under the snow, helped recover victims that were buried under 12 feet of snow.
An avalanche rescue dog, which was brought to the spot from the camp HQ, proved exceptionally useful in locating victims even though it pointed to items like goggles and rucksacks at times. Survivors who were pulled out were quickly transferred to medical facilities on snow scooters that had been bought to the spot.
The tragedy, tough deftly handled, has taught the Army several valuable lessons that will be used in the future to prevent such incidents. While high altitude training cannot be compromisedthe army serves in some of the most difficult locations in the world, including the Siachen glacierseveral measures will now be put in place to ensure more security.
The Army is now exploring the possibility of artificially triggering avalanches at training areas before moving in and the construction of snow breakers in consultation with experts to divert the flow of the snow. The Army is also looking at purchasing more snow scooters and avalanche rescue equipment to be better prepared for the future.
Miracle Mission
The massive avalanche that killed 17 army personnel who were training at the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) near Gulmarg last month could have turned into a much bigger tragedy as over 200 soldiers had got buried under the snow. What saved the day was that they were freshly trained in avalanche rescue.
The avalanche, which struck several kilometers north of where the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment had given out a warning for, hit a training camp of the warfare school on February 8, completely burying 222 soldiers, some of them even 12 feet under, in a matter of seconds.
However, within four hours, rescuers with the help of specialised equipment such as snow diggers, scooters and a sniffer dog that was available nearby, managed to extricate 205 soldiers from under the snow, rounding up probably the armys largest ever successful rescue effort.
While a massive rescue effort was launched within minutes of the incident, what saved many lives was the fact that for most soldiers, the avalanche rescue training they had received just weeks prior during the high altitude warfare course, kicked in. The soldiers were in the final leg of the nine-week course on high altitude warfare conducted by HAWS.
The wall of snow came thundering down while soldiers were having a tea break near the Gujjar Hut area. The soldiers were completely unprepared, given that the nearest warning for an avalanche was several kilometers south near the Gulmarg ski resort. A thick line of trees just above the camp hid the approaching snow from the soldiers till it was too late. The worst affected were those who were facing the direction from which the snow came rushing down. With not even a second to react or even hold their breath, close to 20 soldiers who were directly facing the avalanche were completely taken in by the flowing snow. The report says that most of the 17 personnel who died were found to have been facing the direction from which the avalanche struck and died of asphyxia.
For the rest, the repetitive training that had been on for the past several weeks, automatically kicked in. One of the drills that saved many lives was the swimming action that most soldiers resorted to. The action prevented the soldiers from getting deeply buried and brought a lot of them near the surface.
Those who got buried deep under quickly shifted the snow around their face to create air pockets for breathing. This would give them precious minutes of breathing to survive on till rescuers arrived. Others, who kept a cool head, simply stuck out their ski sticks from under the snow that helped rescuers to quickly locate them.
The rescue effort started within moments of the avalanche by troops that had been freshly trained in avalanche rescue tactics. Without wasting time for equipment to arrive, the soldiers used improvised equipment like skis and ski sticks to prod the snow and locate survivors. A rough search pattern, in which groups of five soldiers each swept through the affected area in search of survivors, immediately led to a large number of survivors.
Being a military establishment, specialised equipment like a snow groomer and snow scooters were rushed in from the nearby HQ to assist in the rescue. The groomer, which was used to burrow under the snow, helped recover victims that were buried under 12 feet of snow.
An avalanche rescue dog, which was brought to the spot from the camp HQ, proved exceptionally useful in locating victims even though it pointed to items like goggles and rucksacks at times. Survivors who were pulled out were quickly transferred to medical facilities on snow scooters that had been bought to the spot.
The tragedy, tough deftly handled, has taught the Army several valuable lessons that will be used in the future to prevent such incidents. While high altitude training cannot be compromisedthe army serves in some of the most difficult locations in the world, including the Siachen glacierseveral measures will now be put in place to ensure more security.
The Army is now exploring the possibility of artificially triggering avalanches at training areas before moving in and the construction of snow breakers in consultation with experts to divert the flow of the snow. The Army is also looking at purchasing more snow scooters and avalanche rescue equipment to be better prepared for the future.
Miracle Mission
