10 army personnel killed, 10 injured as vehicle falls into gorge in Jammu

SRINAGAR: Ten army personnel were killed when their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda. Ten others were seriously injured in the accident. An official statement from the Indian Army will be issued soon. The injured soldiers were shifted to a nearby hospital immediately. Rescue operations are underway in the area. Initial suspicion is that bad weather ay have been the cause of the accident.

Officials said the bulletproof army vehicle, a Casspir, was heading for an operation when it veered off the Bhaderwah-Chamba interstate road at Khanni top and plunged into the gorge.

This is the second major accident in Jammu and Kashmir in the last few days. A few days ago, two army porters died after falling into a gorge near the Line of Control in Gulmarg sector. The porters, Laikat Ahmed Deedar (27) and Ishfaq Ahmed Khatana (33), who were going to Anita Post in Gulmarg sector, fell into the gorge and died. Their bodies, both natives of Baramulla, were found after a two-day search.

In May last year, three soldiers were killed when their military vehicle fell into a 700-feet deep gorge in Ramban district. The accident took place near Battery Chashma on National Highway 44. The soldiers who died were identified as Amit Kumar, Sujeet Kumar and Mann Bahadur.