Indian avalanche soldier dies three days after rescue

Siachen Miracle, Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, who fought with the death for six days all alone, is currently being treated by the doctors and as of now, the condition is still critical.

Lance Naik Koppad was flown down to Delhi’s Army Research and Referral Hospital, where he battled for life for two days.

The whole nation had been praying for him but the soldier took his last breaths around 11:45 AM on Thursday. He hailed from Betadur village in Dharwad district. Koppad miraculously survived after being under 35 feet of ice for six days at an avalanche-hit army post in the Siachen glacier in Jammu and Kashmir. Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and three service chiefs will attend and will salute the soldier. His multi-organ dysfunction state continues unabated.

“I pray to Lord Jagannath for his speedy recovery”. Koppad is survived by his parents, wife Mahadevi Ashok Bilebal and a two-year-old daughter Netra. Hanamanthappa was evacuated by a helicopter on Tuesday from the site of the avalanche that hit his post on Siachen Glacier before being shifted to Delhi in an IAF aircraft accompanied by a critical care specialist of the force and a medical specialist from the base camp. He was posted in Mahore in Jammu and Kashmir from 2003 to 2006, where he was actively involved in counter-insurgency operations.

Troops discovered Mr Koppad, with a faint pulse and suffering from severe injuries, after digging through the snow on the Siachen glacier in Kashmir. It separates central Asia from the Indian subcontinent, and Pakistan from China in this region.

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