Pakistan Army director general military operations (DGMO) called his Indian counterpart on Thursday and offered assistance for the rescue of Indian Army personnel who went missing after an avalanche hit the Siachen glacier area.

Ten Indian soldiers were feared buried in an avalanche that hit Siachen glacier in the India-held portion of Kashmir on Wednesday, The soldiers were hit while on duty at a post at an altitude of 19,000 feet.

In the early hours of today, 10 soldiers were hit by an avalanche at the northern Siachen Glacier.” An army statement said the post was being manned by one junior officer and nine soldiers when the avalanche struck.

Avalanches and landslides are common at the Siachen Glacier during the winter and temperatures there can drop as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.

In January four soldiers were killed by an avalanche, while last year another four died when their vehicle was buried under an avalanche near Leh, the main city in the high-altitude region known as Ladakh.

An estimated 8,000 troops have died on the glacier since 1984, almost all of them from avalanches, landslides, frostbite, altitude sickness or heart failure rather than combat.

Afghan, Pakistan DGMOs meet

Separately, an Afghan delegation flanked by director general military operations (DGMO) on Thursday visited Rawalpindi and met the Pakistani DGMO to discuss bilateral security and border management.

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), there was an agreement during the meeting that none of the countries will allow terrorists use their soil for their activities.

The meeting was a sequel to Army chief General Raheel Sharif’s visit to Kabul in December, wherein military interaction between the two countries were decided, followed by a meeting of Corps Commanders last week.(Agencies)