愛污传媒

Skip to main content

Missing India soldier's body found on glacier after 38 years

In this photo provided by the Indian Army, soldiers carry the remains of Chandra Shekhar, an Indian army soldier found more than 38 years after he went missing, in Leh, India, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. (Indian Army via AP) In this photo provided by the Indian Army, soldiers carry the remains of Chandra Shekhar, an Indian army soldier found more than 38 years after he went missing, in Leh, India, Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. (Indian Army via AP)
Share
LEH, India -

The remains of an Indian army soldier have been found more than 38 years after he went missing on a glacier at the highest point along the heavily militarized contested border between India and Pakistan in Kashmir, officials said Wednesday.

The soldier and 17 other colleagues were occupying a ridge on Siachen Glacier, high in the Karakoram range in disputed Kashmir's Ladakh region, in May 1984 when they were hit by an avalanche, officials said.

The bodies of 13 soldiers were recovered, but five remained missing.

A team of soldiers on Monday found human remains at the glacier with an identity disc saying they belonged to Chandra Shekhar, one of the missing men, the Indian army said.

Shekhar was part of India's first army unit to occupy the 76-kilometre (47-mile) -long glacier in 1984 amid pitched battles with soldiers from Pakistan, which also controls part of divided Kashmir. Both nuclear-armed neighbors claim all of the region. The glacier, considered the world's highest battlefield, was uninhabited before Indian troops moved there.

Since then, the two countries have deployed troops at elevations of up to 6,700 metres (21,982 feet). They have fought intermittent skirmishes on the glacier, but more Indian and Pakistani troops have died from the grueling conditions than from hostile fire.

In 2017, at least 20 Indian soldiers were killed in three avalanches. In 2012, an avalanche in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir killed 140 people, including 129 Pakistani soldiers.

Discussions between India and Pakistan on demilitarizing the glacier have been unsuccessful.

Shekhar's remains were being flown on Wednesday to his native village in northern Uttarakhand state following a funeral with full military honours, the army said.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.

Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.

Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray鈥擲aint-Michel鈥擯arc-Extension borough on Thursday.

The Ottawa Police Service has identified the woman who was stabbed to death at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive Thursday morning.

Local Spotlight

A new resident at a Manitoba animal rescue has waddled her way into people's hearts.

Hundreds of people ran to the music of German composer and pianist Beethoven Wednesday night in a unique race in Halifax.

He is a familiar face to residents of a neighbourhood just west of Roncesvalles Avenue.

A meteor lit up our region's sky last night 鈥 with a large fireball shooting across the horizon over Lake Erie at around 7:00 p.m.

Residents of Ottawa's Rideauview neighbourhood say an aggressive wild turkey has become a problem.

A man who lost his life while trying to rescue people from floodwaters, and a 13-year-old boy who saved his family from a dog attack, are among the Nova Scotians who received a medal for bravery Tuesday.

A newly minted Winnipegger is hoping a world record attempt will help bring awareness for the need for more pump track facilities in the city.

A Springfield, Ont. man is being hailed a 'hero' after running into his burning home to save his two infant children.

Hortense Anglin was the oldest graduate to make her way across the platform at York University's Fall Convocation ceremony this week. At the age of 87, she graduated with an Honours degree in Religious Studies.