The body of an Indian Army soldier, which was found 18 years after he went missing from the Siachen Glacier in Jammu and Kashmir, was sent to his home in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday, police said.

Police sources told IANS that Havaldar Gaya Prasad of the 15 Rajput Regiment had gone missing from the Siachen Glacier in 1996.

“The body of Havaldar Gaya Prasad was found a few days back buried under the snow in the general area of the Glacier. The body has been retrieved after 18 years,” a senior police officer told IANS.

“We have today (Wednesday) sent the body to Mainpuri in Uttar Pradesh,” the officer said.

The officer said because of extremely low temperatures in the area, the body was not decomposed and fairly well preserved.

The Siachen Glacier is the world’s highest battlefield, where temperatures drop to minus 45 degrees Celsius and even more during the winter.

Even in summer, the night temperatures drop below the freezing point in the area.