Ladakh: In a tragic incident, five Indian Army men, including a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), lost their lives during a training session in Ladakh near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
The army men were participating in a drill about moving military Tanks across the Shyok River in Eastern Ladakh yesterday.
During the exercise, water level in the river rose suddenly because of an unpredicted gush, the Army said.
Because of this, one Tank, with 6 soldiers on board, got stuck in the river.
Rescue teams were rushed to the site but efforts to save the soldiers were thwarted by the heavy flow of water, according to the Army.
In a statement, the Army regretted the loss of 5 brave soldiers, who were operationally deployed in Eastern Ladakh.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also expressed deep sadness over the loss of lives of the 5 soldiers.
He said the exemplary service of these deceased soldiers to the nation would never be forgotten.
India has thousands of military personnel deployed along the LAC in this sector since May 2020 as a tit-for-tat deployment to that of the Chinese Army.
India mobilized additional troops to the Eastern Ladakh sector after Chinese Army launched an aggression in May 2020 in an attempt to change the LAC or Line of Actual Control.
