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Arunachal avalanche: Wreath laying ceremony of seven soldiers held at Tezpur
The mortal remains have been taken by service aircraft to Pathankot and Jammu and further will be taken by road to their native places in the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K.
JAMMU: The Indian Army on Saturday paid last respects to the seven soldiers, who died in the line of duty in Kameng sector of Arunachal Pradesh on February 6 after they were struck by an avalanche.
“Wreath laying ceremony of Havaldar Jugal Kishore, Rifleman Arun Kattal, Rifleman Akshay Pathania (all from Jammu), Rifleman Vishal Sharma, Rfleman Rakesh Singh, Rifleman Ankesh Bhardwaj and Gunner (TA) Gurbaj Singh of Indian Army who made supreme sacrifice in the line of duty, was held at Tezpur Air Force Station on Saturday morning around 6.40 am,” said Defence spokesman Lt Col Devender Anand.
“General Officer Commanding, Gajraj Corps, Lt Gen Ravin Khosla and other military officials paid last respects to the bravehearts,” he added.
Col Anand said that the mortal remains have been taken by service aircraft to Pathankot and Jammu and further will be taken by road to their native places in the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K.
The bravehearts were part of a patrol which was struck by an avalanche in the high-altitude area of Kameng Sector in Arunachal Pradesh on February 6.
Search and rescue operations were launched immediately including airlifting of specialised teams.
“The rescue teams, displaying highest degree of camaraderie and esprit-de-corps, recovered their fallen brothers under hostile weather conditions in an area located at an altitude of 14500 feet which has treacherous terrain and high peaks,” said the spokesperson. The area of incident was witnessing heavy snowfall and inclement weather for the last few days which made the rescue operations more challenging for the specialised teams tasked to locate and recover the bravehearts, he added.
Jugal Kishor hailed from Dori Dager village in Akhnoor tehsil of Jammu district, Arun Kattal hailed from Jandore village in Lakhanpur area of Kathua, Akshay Pathania hailed from Haratika Chakkar village in Dharkalan of Pathankot, Vishal Sharma hailed from Chak Malal village in Khour tehsil of Jammu district, Rakesh Singh hailed from Kandral village in Baijnath tehsil of Kangra, Ankesh Bhardwaj hailed from Seu village in Ghamarwin area of Himachal’s Bilaspur and Gurbaj Singh hailed from Massanian village in Punjab’s Batala.
The spokesperson said that the mortal remains of Arun Kattal will be sent by road to his native village while bodies of Jugal Kishore and Vishal Sharma have been sent in a service aircraft to Jammu airport.
“From Jammu, the bravehearts will be taken to their native villages by road,” he said.
