Siachen braveheart soldiers on

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 9

The next 48 hours are medically crucial for the Army jawan who was miraculously found alive after being buried under 25 feet of snow following an avalanche atop the Siachen glacier.

A medical bulletin of the Army today said Lance Naik Hanamanthappa Koppad, who was evacuated to Delhi this morning, is comatose but has no frostbite that would have permanently damaged the affected body part. But the bulletin, which was issued by Army spokesperson Col Rohan Anand, added: “He remains extremely critical and is expected to have a stormy course in the next 24 to 48 hours due to complications by re-warming and establishment of blood flow to the cold parts of the body.”

Army doctors treating people with long exposure to cold follow a procedure of re-warming the human body by slowly infusing medication that facilitates blood flow to parts of the body that would have gone numb due to lack of oxygen and cold.

The rescued soldier is being treated with fluids and drugs to bring up his blood pressure. He has been placed on a ventilator and is being given “humidified warm oxygen” and passive external re-warming.  

Rescue teams looking under the avalanche site at 20,000 feet atop the glacier, had last night found Hanamanthappa buried under 25 feet of ice. He was conscious but drowsy and disoriented. He was severely dehydrated, in shock and was resuscitated by the doctors at the site.

Explaining his miraculous survival, sources said he was probably lucky to be wedged between two ice blocks which created a “pocket” around him, stopping wind and thus keeping him alive despite night temperature dropping to minus 55 °Celsius. The thick alpine clothing and specialised snow boots prevented him from freezing to death. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Army Chief General Dalbir Singh visited the Army Hospital Research and Referral (R&R) and commended the braveheart for his indomitable mental robustness.