New Delhi: The frozen body of a soldier who went missing 21 years ago at the
Siachen glacier has been found last Sunday by a group of soldiers
patrolling the world's highest battleground - Siachen Glacier. 
Havildar
TV Patil, who belonged to Maharashtra, had fallen into a crevasse in
February 1993. He was 30. Because of the sub-zero temperatures, his body
had not decomposed, said sources, and he was identified by a letter
from his family and a medical certificate found in his pocket.
His
brother, also a soldier with the Maratha Light Infantry, died in an
avalanche in 1987 while posted to the glacier. His body remains unfound.
Sources told NDTV that Havildar Patil, whose body has been
found, was trying to collect air-dropped supplies when he moved away
from the prescribed path and fell into a crevasse. As others tried to
pull him out, his snow gloves slipped off, and he plunged several feet.
In
August, the frozen body of Havildar Gaya Prasad from Maharastra had
been found at the Siachen Glacier; in 1996, he had fallen into a
crevasse there.
At more than 18,000 feet (5,700 meters) Siachen sees temperatures that can drop as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.
