A Malayali jawan died in Siachen in a hailstorm, the authorities informed his family in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram. The deceased has been identified as 29-year-old Akhil SS, a native of Poovachal near Kattakada in the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram. He was working as an assistant in the Army in the rank of Naik.

Akhil is the son of Sudarshanan and Sathi Kumar. Sudarshanan is a farmer while Sathikumari is an ASHA worker. He is also survived by wife Geethu and his 1-year-old son Devanathan.

"We got the message on Tuesday night. The information was passed to his brother who is working as a civil police officer. He joined the Army around 11 years ago," Akhil's uncle Radhakrishnan Nair told TNM.

Akhil had visited home in October to celebrate the first birthday of his son and returned on October 23.

"The unit he was working with had been moved to Srinagar recently and he went there on October 23 after visiting home. The mortal remains have been kept at a hospital Srinagar and will be brought to Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday,” Radhakrishnan Nair said.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has condoled the death of the jawan. 

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