Arunachal Pradesh: 7 Indian Army officers stuck in avalanche; rescue operations underway

Itanagar, Feb 7: At least seven Indian Army personnel who were part of a patrol team are reported to have been stuck in an avalanche on Sunday in Arunachal Pradesh. In the high altitude area of Kameng Sector in the Northeastern state, search and rescue operations are presently underway and specialised teams have been airlifted to assist in rescue operations, stated the Indian Army.

 

 

The personnel have been stuck there since February 6. The area has been witnessing inclement weather with heavy snowfall since the last few days. Arunachal Pradesh is generally divided into Kameng area on the west and Rest of Arunachal Pradesh. Notably, Indian Army Eastern Command handles the 1,346 kilometers long Line of Actual Control (LAC), including Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh.

 

This command has three corps - 33 Corps (Sikkim), four Corps (Kameng Sector) and three Corps (Rest of Arunachal Pradesh) to handle the LAC. In the region, India's Border Roads Organisation has been focusing on the area for road construction after a push from the government.

 

 

According to the reports, Daria Hill near Itanagar received snowfall after 34 years and Rupa town in Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng district witnessed snowfall after two decades. A number of high altitude areas of the frontier state like Tawang (10,200 ft), Bomdila (7,923 ft), Mechukha (6,200 ft), Ziro (5,5538 ft) and Daria Hill near Itanagar, Rupa town in West Kameng district, Dirang town and Anini in Dibang valley witnessed heavy snowfall on Saturday.

 

 

The high altitude areas such as Tawang and Bomdila witness snowfall every year but Daria Hill received snowfall after more than three decades as the last snowfall was recorded in 1988. Rupa town also received snowfall after 20 years and Dirang town after nearly 15 years. Anini and Dibang valley have recorded snowfall after five years.

 

 

An avalanche in Arunachal Pradesh was even suspected last year in November after the Kameng river, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra river in the state’s East Kameng district continued to remain black and muddy. At the time, the authorities in East Kameng district had said that satellite imagery revealed some kind of landslide or avalanche in the upper reaches of the river, as per media reports. The river changing colours was first reported on 29 October 2021.