Buried under 25 feet snow for 6 days, Indian Army soldier found alive in Siachen

Indian soldier buried under snow, airlifted to Delhi's R R Hospital.#SiachenMiracle #ITVideohttps://t.co/1jDJ41VHjI

— India Today (@IndiaToday) February 9, 2016

Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad and nine of his colleagues were resting when a huge wall of ice came crashing down on their post on February 3. It all happened so quickly that none of the ten had time to react. All of them were were buried under 25 feet of snow at the Siachen glacier.

The Indian Army and Indian Air Force launched massive but extremely difficult operation to locate the Indian post and pull out the buried soldiers. Chance of any of them surviving under the snow in Siachen's extreme climate was dim.

Speaking on the tragedy, Lt Gen DS Hooda, GOC-in-C (army commander), Northern Command said, "In the ongoing rescue operation at Siachen, of the ten soldiers buried under ice Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad has been found alive, all the other soldiers are regrettably no more with us. The medical condition of Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad is critical but all attempts are being made to evacuate him to RR Hospital in the morning. We hope the miracle continues. Pray with us. "

Read more here.

Twitter reactions

Going to see Lance Naik Hanumanthappa, with prayers from the entire nation.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 9, 2016

A very pleasant miracle,our brave soldier Hanamanthappa Koppad has defeated the fury of avalanche in Siachen. Wishing him a speedy recovery.

— ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) February 9, 2016

A thousand prayers for Lance Naik Hanamanthappa. Miracle survivor pulled out of Siachen avalanche after 6 days. pic.twitter.com/SGvli7dx8P

— Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) February 9, 2016

Chief of Army Staff General Dalbir Singh reaches Army R&R hospital. Medical board formed and examination underway. @IndiaToday

— GAURAV C SAWANT (@gauravcsawant) February 9, 2016

Miracle! Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad survived 6 days under the Siachen avalanche. Condition critical. If you have faith, please pray.

— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) February 8, 2016

Army: Lance Naik Hanamanthappa critical. We hope the miracle continues. Pray with us. #SiachenSurvivor

— Manu Pubby (@manupubby_ET) February 8, 2016

This cynical nation can pause and spare a thought to the soldier rescued from snow grave. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa hope you get better soon.

— Neelesh Misra (@neeleshmisra) February 9, 2016