Islamabad - Pakistan search teams have found the first corpse of about 138 soldiers buried alive last month under an avalanche in the country's northern Himalayan region, a army spokesman said Sunday.
The April 7 avalanche submerged a military base housing the Northern Light Infantry in the Gyari sector of Siachen - an area claimed by both Pakistan and India.
A spokesman told dpa that about 50 days of search efforts on Saturday evening resulted in the discovery of the main check post of the camp.
“Soon after that they found the body of a soldier,” he said, on condition of anonymity. “His funeral prayer was later offered and the body sent ... for proper burial.”
The Pakistan army flew in earth-moving machines, excavators and dumpers to remove the heavy slush of snow and boulders but inclement weather has hampered the operation.
Pakistan's army chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kaynai, has said that the work will continue until all of the bodies are recovered.
Siachen glacier is located at a height of more than 7,000 metres, where Indian and Pakistan have deployed troops since 1984.
The two countries fought a bitter war on what is believed to be the world's highest battlefield, in sub-zero temperatures, until a ceasefire was agreed in November 2003.
It is believed that India and Pakistan have lost more men to avalanches and the weather than actual fighting.
- Sapa-dpa-IOL
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