Madras Regiment News

A tearful final farewell was given on Tuesday to four soldiers from Tamil Nadu and one from Andhra Pradesh who were buried alive in an avalanche on the hostile Siachen glacier on February 3.

Siachen braveheart Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad was laid to rest at his home town - Betadur village in Dharwad district of Karnataka on Friday, a day after he breathed his last at Delhi's RR hospital.  

As a mark of respect to the brave soldier who died on Thursday, Union Finance Ministry made a picture of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad as its cover photo on its twitter handle.

The last rites of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, who passed away on Thursday after battling for life since his miraculous survival in Siachen, will be held at his native village in Dharwad district tomorrow with full state honours.

Leaving a billion hearts saddened Siachen braveheart Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad lost the battle with death on Thursday.

The soldier is in coma, a medical bulletin issued by the Army's Research and Referral Hospital said on Tuesday.

Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad was enrolled in 19th Battalion of Madras Regiment on October 25, 2002.

Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad was miraculously rescued from the Siachen Glacier after being buried under 35 feet of snow for six days.

According to the experts and Army veterans who have served at the Siachen , the world's highest battlefield, it is almost impossible for any human being to survive under such conditions even for 15 minutes. 

Ten Army personnel were buried under a mass of snow after their post was hit by an avalanche on Wednesday at the altitude of 19,000 feet close to the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.

Ten soldiers were on duty at an Army post on a glacier in J&K at an altitude of 5,900 metres (19,600 feet) when it was hit by a massive avalanche.