Bodies of two avalanche victims recovered

Ending what appeared to many as a hopeless search for bodies in the treacherous heights of Gayari near the Siachen glacier, Pakistan Army on Sunday recovered bodies of two of the 140 soldiers trapped under heaps of snow, slush, sand and hard rock since an avalanche wiped out a battalion headquarter on April 7.

The first body was found in the morning from where the checkpost of the residential area of the 6 Northern Light Infantry used to be located. The recovery of the Skardu-based soldier's body lit hopes of finding more bodies, as most of the soldiers were asleep at the time of the avalanche which came crushing down in the wee hours of the morning.

And, the rescue team — which till date had gone about its task for 50 days without any luck — was not disappointed as another body was recovered during the course of the day. The identity of the body had not been established till late in the night.

Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had made it clear early on that the search would not be abandoned; however futile it might seem. On his second visit to Gayari on April 18, he told reporters: “If we need to dig out this mountain, we will do so to get the bodies; no matter how long it takes.”