08 April 2012

Oops is now a Pakistani term

Daniel Politi has a Slate article about a disaster in Kashmir:
An avalanche struck a major army base on a Himalayan glacier in the disputed region of Kashmir, burying 135 people, including eleven civilians, who were inside a military complex in the disputed Kashmir region, reported the Associated Press. A massive rescue operation was launched, but the task was daunting, considering the base was buried under some seventy feet of snow. Although some bodies had been recovered, there are no signs of survivors; Pakistani rescue workers continued digging through the snow in the hopes of finding survivors more than a day after the avalanche struck, but the 240 soldiers and civilians working at the scene had yet to find any bodies.
The BBC points out the avalanche seems to have caught military officials completely off guard. Although avalanches are common on the glacier, where temperatures can plummet to as low as -94 degrees Fahrenheit, they usually occur at a higher altitude where far fewer troops are stationed.
The Siachien glacier is regularly referred to as the world’s highest battlefield, and troops are based at elevations of up to 22,000 feet, according to the Washington Post. Yet the harsh weather is much more likely to kill soldiers than combat. India and Pakistan, which have fought two wars over Kashmir, keep around ten to twenty thousand troops in the area between the two of them.
Rico says not a place he'd like to soldier (as if there is one, other than maybe Miami Beach)...

No comments:

 

Casino Deposit Bonus