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Hanamanthappa dies, nation pays tributes
After battling for life for over a week, Siachen braveheart Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad breathed his last on Thursday
By
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New Delhi
Hanamanthappa was miraculously rescued alive after three days from beneath tonnes of snow following an avalanche that hit his post in Siachen Glacier at an altitude of 19,600 feet.
“Hanamanthappa is no more. He breathed his last at 11:45 am on Thursday,” a senior army official said. The 33-year-old soldier of the 19th Battalion of Madras Regiment is survived by wife Mahadevi Ashok Bilebal and two-year-old daughter Netra Koppad.
A resident of village Betadur in Dharwad district of Karnataka, Koppad had joined the army 13 years back.
The condition of Koppad, who was admitted to Army Research and Referral Hospital here on February 9, had deteriorated on Wednesday. Dubbed as the ‘miracle man’, the soldier had managed to stay alive for six days buried under the snow after an avalanche struck their post on February 3.
Meanwhile, condolences poured in from all sections with Prime Minister Modi leading the country in paying respects to the martyr. “He leaves us sad & devastated.
RIP Lance Naik Hanamanthappa. The soldier in you remains immortal. Proud that martyrs like you served India,” Modi tweeted. Congress President Sonia Gandhi also expressed deep shock and profound grief over the death of Koppad.
History of Avalanches
- On February 11 2010, an avalanche struck an Indian army post in the Southern Glacier, killing one soldier. A base camp was also struck, that killed two Ladakh scouts.
- The same day, a single avalanche hit a Pakistani military camp in Bevan sector, killing 8 soldiers
- In 2011, 24 Indian soldiers died on the Siachen glacier from the climate and accidents. On July 22, two Indian officers burned to death when a fire caught on their shelter.
- In the early morning of April 7, 2012, an avalanche hit a Pakistani military headquarters in the Gayari Sector, burying 129 soldiers of the 6th Northern Light Infantry battalion and 11 civilian contractors.
- In the aftermath of the disaster, Pakistan’s army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani suggested India and Pakistan should withdraw all troops from the contested glacier.
- On May 29, two Pakistani soldiers were killed in a landslide in the Chorbat Sector.
- On December 12, an avalanche killed 6 Indian soldiers in the Sub Sector Hanif in Turtuk area, when troops of the 1st Assam regiment were moving between posts
- In 2012, a total of 12 Indian soldiers died of hostile weather conditions.
- In 2013, 10 Indian soldiers died due to weather conditions.
- On April 4, 2015, four Indian soldiers died after the vehicle they were in was overturned in an avalanche that struck near Chang La village along the Srinagar-Leh highway.
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