Siachen/Nagpur: Lance Naik Hanumanthappa who miraculously survived for six days under snow on the Siachen glacier was flown to Delhi on Tuesday morning and has been admitted in the Army’s Research & Referral (RR) hospital.
PTI reports that the soldier is currently comatose and continues to be in shock with low blood pressure, quoting the hospital’s first medical bulletin. He remains extremely critical and is expected to have a stormy course in the next 24-48 hours, the bulletin said.
He has been admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at RR and preliminary medical examination is underway, officials said.
Rescue teams which were working round the clock miraculously found Lance Naik Hanumanthappa alive late on Monday night. He was flown from the avalanche site to Thoise by helicopter on Tuesday morning and from there was airlifted to Delhi in an Air Force plane.
Operation in progress to find the soldiers, who were buried alive after an avalanche hit an Army post, with additional specialised equipment and teams deployed at the site. Photo: Special Arrangement
Lance Naik Hanumanthappa and nine others of the Madras regiment were buried under 25 feet of snow after large blocks of snow fell on their camp following a major avalanche on the Northern Siachen glacier at 19,600 feet on February 3.
“In the ongoing rescue operations at Siachen, of the 10 soldiers buried under ice Lance Naik Hanumanthappa has been found alive. We hope the miracle continues. Pray with us,” Lt Gen DS Hooda, Northern Army commander said in a statement.
However all the other soldiers are regrettably no more with us, he added. While five bodies have been recovered, the remaining four have been located and efforts are on to retrieve them.
Rescue teams have been working round the clock at temperatures of minus 25 to minus 45 degrees and were hampered by frequent snow blizzards, extreme freezing temperatures and low visibility apart.
There was also the risk of fresh avalanches as the ice and snow in the region was unstable. Heavy equipment and radars have been pressed into service in addition to rescue dogs.
