As a huge avalanche came rolling down on February 28 morning, burying a Border Roads Organisation camp in Uttarakhand and trapping 55 labourers — at least 47 of them were rescued by March 1 morning — among those who immediately sprang to the rescue were personnel from the Indian Army’s IBEX Brigade, an elite force trained in high-altitude operations.
Images released by the Defence PRO on the social network X showed the extreme difficulty in which the IBEX Brigade operated all through Friday, extricating the BRO labourers trapped under several feet of snow, then trudging through the deep snow with stretchers on their shoulders. By Saturday morning, the weather conditions had improved and helicopter evacuation had begun.
The X handle @PRODefDehradun informed yesterday: “Troops of #IndianArmy IBEX Brigade have been deployed to rescue trapped civilians after a devastating glacier avalanche in Mana Village, Chamoli. Approx 170 soldiers along with medical & teams are working tirelessly in extremely challenging weather conditions.”
Here are glimpses of the IBEX Brigade operation in the snow-clad Himalayan region in northern India.
