At least ten Army soldiers lost their lives and eleven others were injured in a tragic road accident on Thursday morning after a military vehicle plunged into a deep gorge on the Bhaderwah–Chamba interstate highway in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to officials, the accident took place near Khanni Top, at an altitude of around 9,000 feet, in the Bhaderwah area of Doda district. A Casspir vehicle of the Army’s Rashtriya Rifles was carrying 21 soldiers who were on routine surveillance duty in the higher reaches when the vehicle reportedly skidded off the narrow mountain road around 10 am.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel
The Casspir, a mine-resistant armoured vehicle designed to protect troops from blasts, fell into a nearly 250-foot-deep gorge, causing severe damage and critical injuries to the soldiers inside.
A rescue operation was immediately launched by the Army, local administration, and police. The injured soldiers were rushed to Sub-District Hospital Bhaderwah, where doctors declared three soldiers dead on arrival. Another soldier later succumbed to injuries during treatment.
Providing an official update, Sunil Kumar Bhutyal, Additional Deputy Commissioner Bhaderwah, said that ten Army personnel have died in the accident. He added that ten injured soldiers were airlifted to the Command Hospital Udhampur for advanced treatment, while one injured soldier remains under observation at SDH Bhaderwah.
The civil administration and police have confirmed the casualty figures. However, till the filing of this report, the Army had not issued a formal official statement.
The tragic incident has cast a pall of grief over the region, highlighting once again the dangers faced by security forces while operating in difficult terrain and harsh weather conditions in the Himalayan region.
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