NEW DELHI: Three soldiers have been killed in a major avalanche in the central region of the forbidding Siachen Glacier, the highest and coldest battlefield in the world, in northern Ladakh.Sepoy Mohit Kumar, Agniveer Niraj Kumar Choudhary and Agniveer Dabhi Rakesh Devabhai were trapped when the avalanche hit their forward post in the central glacier during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday.“Their bodies were retrieved on Tuesday in the search and rescue operation launched after the avalanche,” an officer said.India has lost over 1,200 soldiers, including around 40 officers, in the Siachen Glacier-Saltoro Ridge region since April 1984 when Indian troops occupied almost all the dominating heights from 15,000 to 22,000 feet in the region to pre-empt a similar attempt by Pakistan under Operation Meghdoot.Over 75% of the casualties have been caused by the severe terrain and climatic conditions, with temperatures even dipping to minus 50 degrees Celsius, rather than firing duels and trench warfare with enemy soldiers.In recent years, the Army has stopped haemorrhaging with better infrastructure, logistics and habitats in place, apart from the long-standing ceasefire with Pakistan along the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line in the region.