Ramban/Jammu: Three Army personnel, including a junior commissioned officer, were killed when their vehicle skidded off the road and plunged into a 500-metre deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district on Sunday, officials said.
J&K LG, Manoj Sinha and J&K CM have expressed shock over the incident, extending their condolences to the bereaved families.
The Army truck was part of a convoy moving from Jammu to Srinagar along National Highway 44. The accident occurred near Battery Chashma at around 11.30 am, the officials said.
They said a joint rescue operation was launched immediately by Army, police, State Disaster Response Force and local volunteers.
Three soldiers travelling in the vehicle were found dead on the spot.
The deceased were identified as Naib-Subedar Sujeet Kumar, driver Amit Kumar and sepoy Man Bahadur, said officials, who added that their bodies were retrieved from the gorge after several hours of hectic efforts.
The crash has reduced the vehicle into a mangled heap of metal, they said.
Confirming the death of the JCO and two soldiers, Ramban Senior Superintendent of Police Kulbir Singh said preliminary investigation suggested that the accident was caused by a technical glitch in the vehicle and an investigation was underway to ascertain the exact reason.
Army’s northern command paid tribute to the deceased personnel and extended its condolences to the bereaved families.
“An Army vehicle moving as part of routine convoy on May 4 slid off the road and fell into a gorge near Ramban. All three Army personnel travelling in the vehicle succumbed to the injuries in this tragic accident,” the Northern Command said in a post on microblogging site X, adding that it stands firm with the bereaved families in this hour of grief.
Congress expresses sorrow at soldiers’ deaths, seeks preventive steps
The Congress on Sunday expressed sorrow at the deaths of three army personnel who were killed when their vehicle plunged into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir and urged the authorities to implement immediate safety measures.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on X, “Extremely pained to hear about the terrible tragedy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban, where three Indian Army soldiers have lost their lives due to a vehicle accident.”
“We salute their selfless service to the nation. Our heartfelt condolences to the families of our bravehearts,” he added.
Kharge said, “Given that a similar fatal incident, involving civilians, occurred in the same gorge in March this year, we strongly urge the authorities to implement appropriate and adequate safety measures immediately to prevent future accidents.”
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to the soldiers and expressed his deepest condolences to the bereaved families.
The news of the death of many of our soldiers due to the accident of an army van in Ramban, Jammu and Kashmir, is extremely saddening, he said in a Facebook post.(PTI)
