Avalanche hits Siachen camp, 3 soldiers killed
Three soldiers from the Indian Army's Mahar Regiment were killed in an avalanche at Siachen Glacier, Ladakh, while another officer was rescued.
Three soldiers of Indian Army’s Mahar Regiment were killed after an avalanche struck Siachen — the world’s highest battlefield — in the Union territory of Ladakh, officials aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
The avalanche hit the 12,000-feet-high Siachen base camp area, trapping three soldiers, including two Agniveers, the officials said.
Another army officer, who was also buried in the avalanche, was rescued after a gruelling rescue. “Three soldiers of the Mahar Regiment died after their camp was hit by an avalanche late on Sunday,” confirmed a local official from Nubra.
The deceased have been identified as Sepoy Mohit Kumar of Uttar Pradesh’s Auraiya, Agniveer Dabhi Rakesh Devabhai of Junagadh in Gujarat and Agniveer Niraj Kumar Choudhary from Deogarh in Jharkhand.
“GOC, Fire and Fury Corps and All Ranks salute Sepoy Mohit Kumar, Agniveer Niraj Kumar Choudhary and Agniveer Dabhi Rakesh Devabhai, who made supreme sacrifice in the line of duty in #Siachen on 09 Sep 2025 and offer deep condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief,” the Leh-based Fire and Fury Corps posted on X.
Office of Ladakh Lieutenant Governor, Kavinder Gupta, also posted on X: “Deeply pained by the loss of three brave Army personnel in a tragic avalanche at #Siachen Glacier in #Ladakh. Their supreme sacrifice for the nation will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.”
{{/usCountry}}Office of Ladakh Lieutenant Governor, Kavinder Gupta, also posted on X: “Deeply pained by the loss of three brave Army personnel in a tragic avalanche at #Siachen Glacier in #Ladakh. Their supreme sacrifice for the nation will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.”
{{/usCountry}}Avalanches are common at Siachen Glacier, located on the northern tip of the Line of Control at a height of around 20,000 feet. Temperatures regularly fall to -60 degrees Celsius.
{{/usCountry}}Avalanches are common at Siachen Glacier, located on the northern tip of the Line of Control at a height of around 20,000 feet. Temperatures regularly fall to -60 degrees Celsius.
{{/usCountry}}In 2021, two soldiers were killed in Siachen after an avalanche struck sub-sector Haneef. Other soldiers and porters were rescued after a six-hour-long operation.
{{/usCountry}}In 2021, two soldiers were killed in Siachen after an avalanche struck sub-sector Haneef. Other soldiers and porters were rescued after a six-hour-long operation.
{{/usCountry}}Another massive avalanche in 2019 killed four soldiers and two porters. The avalanche struck a group of eight soldiers patrolling near a post at a height of 18,000 feet.
{{/usCountry}}Another massive avalanche in 2019 killed four soldiers and two porters. The avalanche struck a group of eight soldiers patrolling near a post at a height of 18,000 feet.
{{/usCountry}}The highest number of fatalities due to an avalanche happened in 2022, when seven soldiers died in the Kameng sector of Arunachal Pradesh. Such was the intensity of the avalanche that the bodies of the Army personnel were found three days after they went missing.
In 2022, the Army, for the first time, procured 20 avalanche rescue systems from a Swedish firm – a long-pending requirement amid a large number of soldiers getting killed in avalanches and landslides in the Siachen Glacier and other high-altitude areas of Kashmir and the Northeast.
