After Siachen Glacier miracle, soldier battles for life at Army hospital
New Delhi/Srinagar: In what can only be described as a miracle, one of the 10 Indian Army soldiers — 33-year-old Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad from the 19th Battalion of the Madras Regiment, and hailing from Betadur village in Karnataka’s Dharwad district — who was trapped and buried under a sheet of ice at the Siachen Glacier, was pulled out alive by Army rescuers late Monday night after six days of being trapped under 35 feet of ice and snow at an altitude of 20,500 ft at temperatures of minus 40 degrees Celsius, but is now in a comatose and “extremely critical” condition and has been put on ventilator support.
At Siachen, the world’s highest and coldest battlefield, the rescuers, while burrowing through the ice, found him (the lance naik) literally frozen, like a block of concrete.
He was reportedly not breathing but had a faint pulse. The Army evacuated him swiftly to its Research and Referral (R&R) Hospital in New Delhi on Tuesday morning, where the Army’s best doctors are battling all odds to save his life. When he was rescued, the soldier was found “to be conscious but drowsy and disoriented”, and was “severely dehydrated, hypothermic, hypoxic, hypoglycemic and in shock”.
The “miracle” soldier is also suffering from “low blood pressure”, has pneumonia and is also battling liver and kidney dysfunction. But in a ray of hope, the Army said “fortunately, there was no cold exposure-related frostbite or bony injuries to him”. Sounding a note of caution, the Army said the soldier is expected to have a “stormy course in the next 24 to 48 hours due to the complications caused by re-warming and establishment of blood flow to the cold parts of the body”. Speculation is rife that Lance Naik Hanamanthappa was probably saved — when he was trapped — by the presence of an air pocket when the rock-hard ice sheet and boulders trapped the soldiers. He was in an “arctic” prefabricated tent or hut when disaster struck and speculation is rife that the hut may not have collapsed completely, leading to some insulation from the icy weather for the beleaguered soldier.
Also read: Siachen miracle: Nation prays for Koppad as condition remains critical
But experts are unanimous that even if the soldier enjoyed a large slice of luck, it would have required tremendous mental toughness to survive the ordeal. The bodies of the other nine trapped soldiers were, tragically, found at the glacier.
According to reports, the dogged determination of over 150 soldiers helped by two canines, Dot and Misha, besides earth-penetrating radars and special ice-cutting equipment helped rescue Lance Naik Hanamanthappa. As the Army’s Udhampur-based Northern Command said in the early hours Tuesday: “We hope the miracle continues. Pray with us.” On February 3, a 1 km by 800 m ice wall had broken off and fallen below, trapping the 10 soldiers at Siachen. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa joined the Army in 2002 and participated in challenging counter-insurgency operations both in J&K and the Northeast. He started his tenure in Siachen in August 2015, and started serving in December 2015 at the post where he was when disaster had struck.
Lance Naik Hanamanthappa “was treated with warm intravenous fluids, humidified warm oxygen and passive external re warming” after being rescued and was “flown out from the site” by a helicopter along with a medical specialist to the Siachen base camp, from where he was brought to the Thois airbase. He was then transferred to New Delhi by a fixed-wing aircraft of the IAF along with a critical care specialist of the IAF and medical specialist from the Siachen base camp, the Army said.
But with eyebrows being raised on why the government had earlier offered condolences for the deaths of soldiers trapped at Siachen when rescue operations were not over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and defence minister Manohar Parrikar visited the Army’s R&R Hospital to personally monitor developments on the treatment of the brave soldier and also prayed for his recovery. Prime Minister Modi had earlier condoled the deaths of all the soldiers after the government and Army had virtually given up hope of finding them alive. However, the Army had continued steadfastly with rescue efforts. The Army had to burrow through more than 30 feet of ice and snow before finding the soldier and the nine other bodies.
“No words are enough to describe the endurance and indomitable spirit of Lance Naik Hanumanthappa. He is an outstanding soldier,” Mr Modi said. The Prime Minister was briefed on the soldier’s condition at the hospital. The PM spent about 10 minutes with the soldier, met the team of doctors and medical staff attending to Lance Naik Hanumanthappa, and emphasised that no effort should be spared in his treatment. Just before visiting the hospital, the PM tweeted: “Going to see Lance Naik Hanamanthappa, with prayers from the entire nation.” Army chief Gen. Dalbir Singh Suhag also visited the hospital and “commended the braveheart for his indomitable mental robustness and his refusal to give in to the harsh elements of nature”. In his message, President Pranab Mukherjee said: “I am happy to know that Lance Naik Hanamanthappa has survived the avalanche on Siachen Glacier of February 3, 2016. I applaud his indomitable spirit and ability to endure adverse conditions. Lance Naik Hanamanthappa’s willpower and courage to fight all odds is truly an example to all others.”
The brave soldier’s family’s joy too knew no limits as the news trickled in of him being alive. “It is a rebirth for all of us,” said Mahadevi, wife of the brave soldier, with a visible sense of relief at his miraculous survival. “We were going through a painful ordeal after the avalanche struck... The news of his survival brought the smiles back on our faces. We were all crying and had almost lost hope. I didn’t know what to do. I have a one-and-half-year-old daughter,” she said.
A statement from the office of Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar said he had made arrangements for the lance naik’s family to travel to Delhi. The family is expected to reach Delhi late on Tuesday evening.
The determination of over 150 soldiers helped by two canines, Dot and Misha, besides earth-penetrating radars and special ice-cutting equipment carried the day. “The dogs Dot and Misha did a tremendous job,” officers were quoted in news agency reports as saying. “Him (the lance naik) being found alive electrified the entire rescue team. There was a sudden burst of energy among the men,” the officers said.
