Dead Indian soldier found after 38 years on ‘world’s highest battlefield’

NEW DELHI: The body of an Indian soldier who went missing 38 years ago on a glacier on the ‘disputed’ border with Pakistan has been found.

A unit of the Indian Army tweeted pictures of the coffin of Chander Shekhar wrapped in an Indian flag early Wednesday, two days after India celebrated the 75th anniversary of independence.

The Army said Shekhar was deployed for Operation Meghdoot in 1984 when India and Pakistan fought a brief battle to assert control over the Siachen Glacier, reputed to be the world’s highest battlefield.

At over 18,000 feet (5,486 metres) with temperatures that can plunge to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 Fahrenheit), Siachen is one of the toughest military deployments in the world.

Local media reported that Shekhar was part of a 20-member group that got caught in an ice storm during a patrol.