ITANAGAR, Feb 7: Seven army personnel who were on patrol duty in the high altitude region of Kameng sector in Arunachal Pradesh have been reported missing since Sunday. In continuing inclement weather with heavy snowfall they have been reportedly struck by an avalanche. Rescue teams have been airlifted for combing operations.

Deaths due to fall of avalanches in high ranges of the Himalayas especially during winter months are not uncommon. Last year five Navy personnel who had gone for mountaineering to Mount Trishul in Uttarakhand were hit by an avalanche and were found dead later. Six Army soldiers were also trapped by an avalanche in Siachen recently. This is apart from the casualties that befall civilian mountaineers and trekkers in the high altitude areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh along the Himalayas.

The Army said in a statement that the area has been reporting inclement weather with heavy snowfall for the last several days. “Rescue operations underway in Kameng Sector of Arunachal Pradesh to rescue Army patrol hit by an avalanche. Specialised teams have been airlifted to assist in rescue operations. The area has been witnessing inclement weather with heavy snowfall for the last few days,” it said.

Armed personnel sent to "high-altitude regions are provided adequate training in mountain craft, ice craft and survival in glaciated terrain in mountains, and in coping with any eventuality like avalanche," it added.