04-07-2012, 06:34 PM
brutal!
![[Image: ala_20120407_144314.jpg]](http://a57.foxnews.com/www.foxnews.com/images/root_images/0/0/ala_20120407_144314.jpg)
Search reportedly postponed for Pakistani troops missing in avalanche at glacier known as the world's highest battlefield
April 07, 2012
ISLAMABAD – Bad weather and darkness forced Pakistani soldiers to postpone the rescue mission for at least 117 of their colleagues after a massive avalanche engulfed a military complex in a mountain battleground close to the Indian border, the AFP reported.
More than 12 hours after the disaster at the entrance to the Siachen Glacier, no survivors had been found.
"We are waiting for news and keeping our fingers crossed," said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas.
Hundreds of troops, sniffer dogs and mechanical equipment were at the scene, but were struggling to make much headway into the avalanche, which crashed down onto the rear headquarters building in the Gayari sector early in the morning, burying it under some 70 feet of snow, said Abbas.
"It's on a massive scale," he said. "Everything is completely covered."
Siachen is on the northern tip of the divided Kashmir region claimed by both India and Pakistan.
The accident highlighted the risks of deploying troops to one of the most inhospitable places on earth.
The thousands of troops from both nations stationed there brave viciously cold temperatures, altitude sickness, high winds and isolation for months at a time. Troops have been deployed at elevations of up to 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.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/07/...z1rOfDndlB
Search reportedly postponed for Pakistani troops missing in avalanche at glacier known as the world's highest battlefield
April 07, 2012
ISLAMABAD – Bad weather and darkness forced Pakistani soldiers to postpone the rescue mission for at least 117 of their colleagues after a massive avalanche engulfed a military complex in a mountain battleground close to the Indian border, the AFP reported.
More than 12 hours after the disaster at the entrance to the Siachen Glacier, no survivors had been found.
"We are waiting for news and keeping our fingers crossed," said army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas.
Hundreds of troops, sniffer dogs and mechanical equipment were at the scene, but were struggling to make much headway into the avalanche, which crashed down onto the rear headquarters building in the Gayari sector early in the morning, burying it under some 70 feet of snow, said Abbas.
"It's on a massive scale," he said. "Everything is completely covered."
Siachen is on the northern tip of the divided Kashmir region claimed by both India and Pakistan.
The accident highlighted the risks of deploying troops to one of the most inhospitable places on earth.
The thousands of troops from both nations stationed there brave viciously cold temperatures, altitude sickness, high winds and isolation for months at a time. Troops have been deployed at elevations of up to 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.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/04/07/...z1rOfDndlB