BSF Pays tribute to its martyrs

NEW DELHI: The BSF on Wednesday paid tributes to 13 martyrs of its mountaineering expedition team who had died in an avalanche in 1995 while scaling Mount Saser Kangri.
The event was organised at at village Panamik in Nubra Valley, Ladakh - where the team had its base camp when it was hit by the avalanche - with a team of BSF officers led by DIG Vikas Chandra paying floral tributes.It was on August 27, 1995, when the BSF mountaineering expedition team comprised of 13 top BSF mountaineers while scaling Mt Saser Kangri (Ht 25,171 ft) were struck by a massive avalanche.
The event is organized on August 27 every year by the BSF at village Panamik to pay homage to the martyrs and gratitude to the locals of the area who had provided all support to the BSF rescue teams in locating the missing mountaineers. Only eight dead out of the thirteen bodies could be recovered.
BSF has been undertaking mountaineering expeditions since 1978 when its team successfully scaled the 2,3410 ft high NUN Peak in Zanskar ranges of J&K. The aim of these expeditions is to encourage BSF personnel in the pursuit to adventurous outdoor sports. The services of these experienced mountaineers is gainfully utilized for specialized operations in high altitudes / snow bound areas, where the BSF is deployed in manning the Line of control (LoC) in J&K, a BSF statement said.