SIACHEN: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday took an aerial view of the Gayari base of the Siachen glacier to express solidarity with the Pakistan Army, trying to reach out to the 138 trapped soldiers, hit by an avalanche.

President Zardari, accompanied by Interior Minister Rehman Malik and Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, witnessed the ongoing rescue operation at the Gayari base.

The President was given briefing about the search operation during the aerial view of the avalanche.

Zardari was scheduled to visit Siachen on Monday, which could not take place due to unsuitable weather conditions.

Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif visited Gilgit-Baltistan and paid tribute to the victims of the incident.

Nawaz had also announced a compensation of Rs500, 000 for each affected family and said the Punjab government was preparing a comprehensive package for them.

On April 7, 2012, a huge wall of snow had crashed into the remote Siachen Glacier base high in the mountains in disputed Kashmir early in the morning, smothering an area of one square kilometre.

Over 100 soldiers at six different points on the site were trapped on the site at the time of the incident. APP