An eight-member patrol party of the Army wentmissing on the Siachen glacier after being hit by an avalanche on Monday evening.

The sources said a search and rescue operation has been launched to locate the team. The Siachen Glacier at the height of around 20,000 ft in the Karakoram range is known as the highest militarised zone in the world where the soldiers have to battle frostbite and high winds.

Avalanches and landslides are common at the glacier during the winters and temperatures can drop to as low as minus 60 degrees Celsius.