The Army on Wednesday recovered the body of a 40-year-old porter who had fallen into a deep crevasse in Siachen’s Northern Glacier at a height of about 19,000 feet on February 27. Thukjay Gyasket, resident of Ayee Village near Sasoma in leh of Jammu & Kashmir, had slipped and fallen into a deep narrow crevasse while ferrying stores between forward Army posts. This accident happened weeks after ten soldiers were killed in an avalanche in Siachen on February 4.
Specialised rescue teams from the Siachen Battle School were immediately launched to locate the porter and his mortal remains were located about 130 feet inside the narrow crevasse, officials said.
After locating the body, rescue teams moved inside the crevasse and anchored it to the ice wall to prevent it from further slipping down. The opening and gap of the narrow crevasse was also widened to retrieve the body intact, Army sources said, adding the crevasse was about six foot long and two to four feet wide. The body was brought down to Pathapur and will be handed over to the next of kin after necessary formalities. Thukjay is survived by his mother, wife and two daughters.
Army chief General Dalbir Singh Suhag paid rich tributes to the porter saying that it takes extraordinary courage, physical fitness and mental robustness for a civilian porter to work with the Army in the torturous and unforgiving terrain of Siachen. “For me, he is one of us,” General Suhag said.
Northern Command chief lt General DS Hooda expressed his condolences to the family of the deceased porter and has assured all possible assistance to the family in this moment of grief. He also complimented the tireless efforts and unwavering commitment of the rescue team who braved freezing temperatures to locate and retrieve the mortal remains of the dedicated porter.