Siachen avalanche: Shiv Sena criticises PM Modi for tweeting about demise of soldiers

Mumbai: BJP's ally in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday for tweeting last week about the demise of all ten soldiers trapped in Siachen avalanche.  

Sena's Sanjay Raut said, "Why didn't the PM wait for bodies to be found," as per India Today.

Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad was found alive on the Siachen Glacier six days after being presumed dead under 35 feet of snow was "extremely critical" and in coma.

Koppad, who is from Karnataka, is being treated at the Army Research and Referral Hospital where he was flown in from Sachen base camp earlier Tuesday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Army chief Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag visited the hospital and asked the nation to pray for his well being.

Koppad, who was rescued yesterday from an altitude of 20,500 feet by a team of over 150 soldiers and two canines, Dot and Misha, and was initially declared dead by authorities, was flown in here by an IAF aircraft accompanied by a critical care specialist of the force and a medical specialist from the Siachen base camp.

Over 150 trained and acclimatized army troops, including specialized teams trained in glaciated terrain, were moved into the avalanche site and round-the-clock rescue operations were carried out in extreme weather conditions where average day temperature was minus 30 degrees Celsius and night temperature below minus 55 degrees.

Medical teams and equipment were moved in and a post established to provide emergency treatment at the rescue site itself.

Specialized rescue dogs were also pressed into service.