Jammu, March 10 (IANS) The body of an Indian Army soldier, who went missing during a river crossing exercise, was recovered on Tuesday a day after the accident.

Officials said that the body of the soldier who had gone missing during a river-crossing training exercise in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir a day earlier, was recovered today.

“The body of Sepoy Akshit Sharma was recovered from the Manawar stream in the Khour area by a joint search party of the Army, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local rescuers this morning.

“Sepoy Sharma had gone missing on Monday during a river-crossing exercise conducted by the Army in the Sundarbani area of Rajouri district.

“Following the incident, a search operation was launched by the Army with the assistance of NDRF and local rescuers”, officials said.

Army soldiers discharge duties in high altitude mountains and in rugged terrain in J&K and Ladakh in highly inhospitable and challenging weather and geographical conditions.

The Indian Army also mans the world’s highest battlefield, the Siachen Glacier in the Ladakh region.

The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir.

At 76 kms long, it is the longest glacier in the Karakoram and second-longest in the world’s non-polar areas. It falls from an altitude of 5,753 metres (18,875 ft) above sea level at its head at Indira Col on the India–China border down to 3,620 metres (11,875 ft) at its terminus.

The entire Siachen Glacier, with all major passes, has been under the control of India as part of the union territory of Ladakh since 1984 with Pakistani posts located 1 km below more than 100 Indian posts on the ridge.

It is to acclimatise and train the soldiers for these challenging duties, that tough on ground training exercises and fatigues are carried out for the army personnel in J&K and Ladakh Union Territories.

–IANS

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