ENARADA, Bengaluru, Febraury 11, 2016
After battling in hospital for three days, Siachen Hero Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad died at 11.45 AM on Thursday. 33-year old Hanumanthappa Koppad of 19 Madras Regiment, was buried under 35 ft of ice and snow at 20,500 ft for five days since the avalanche at Siachen (Jammu and Kashmir) on February 3, 2016.
He was rescued from the site on Feb 8, while nine other were buried under the snow. On recovery, he was found to be conscious but drowsy and disoriented. He was severely dehydrated, hypothermic, hypoxic, hypoglycaemic and in shock. He was immediately resuscitated by the doctors at the site, who had been there for the past five days in the hope of a survivor.
He was treated with warm intravenous fluids, humidified warm oxygen and passive external re-warming. He was flown out from the site on Feb 9 by helicopter along with a medical specialist to the Siachen base camp, from where he was brought to the Thois air base. He was then transferred to Delhi by a fixed wing aircraft of the IAF along with a Critical Care Specialist of the IAF and Medical Specialist from the Siachen Base Camp.
His condition remained critical and remained ventilator dependent since arrival. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Koppad at the hospital in New Delhi. Koppad who hails from Betadur (Dharwad district) is survived by his wife Mahadevi Ashok Bilebal and two-year old daughter Netra Koppad.
