Seven Indian soldiers were buried in an avalanche while on patrol along a remote Himalayan border contested by China on Tuesday, according to Indian army rescuers.
The troops were part of a bigger deployment in the state of Arunachal Pradesh and were caught at an elevation of 4,400 meters (14,500 feet) in a region that had witnessed significant snowfall in the days leading up to the avalanche on Sunday.
Despite two days of searching in bad weather, the rescue squad was unable to locate any survivors among the missing men.
“Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, all seven have been confirmed deceased,” Lieutenant Colonel Harsh Wardhan Pande, an army spokesman, said in a statement.
The soldiers’ remains were transported to a neighbouring military medical facility.
India and China have always fought over their broad border, and in 1962, they fought a brief border war in Arunachal Pradesh.
Much of the territory in the state, which Beijing refers to China as South Tibet, is claimed by Beijing.
Tensions rose in 2020 after a deadly high-altitude conflict in Ladakh’s far-northern area, which saw troops fighting hand-to-hand in the contested Galwan Valley.
Multiple rounds of talks have failed to de-escalate tensions since then, and both sides have bolstered the region with new military weapons and tens of thousands of extra soldiers.
