Hanumanthappa Koppad, SM

Biography

Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad was born on 01 June 1983 in Betadur village in the Kundgol taluk of Karnataka's Dharwad district. He joined the Indian Army in 2002 and was posted to the 19th Battalion of the Madras Regiment, an infantry unit with a proud record of service in the most demanding terrain in the country. During 2015-16, Lance Naik Hanumanthappa's unit, 19 Madras, was deployed in the Siachen sector, holding posts at altitudes where the cold and the threat of avalanche are as relentless an adversary as any. On the morning of 03 February 2016, a massive avalanche struck Sonam Post, burying Lance Naik Hanumanthappa and his comrades under nearly 25 feet of snow. Against extraordinary odds, he was found alive after six days beneath the ice and was evacuated for treatment, his survival hailed across the nation as a miracle. Despite the very best efforts of the doctors, the injuries and exposure proved too severe, and on 11 February 2016 Lance Naik Hanumanthappa succumbed, laying down his life in the service of the nation. For his exceptional grit, devotion to duty and supreme sacrifice, Lance Naik Hanumanthappa Koppad was awarded the Sena Medal (Posthumous).