In a tragic incident, at least three soldiers died after falling into a deep gorge during patrolling along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district. According to an Army official, the deceased included a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO), and two other rank soldiers.
He further stated that the incident occurred when the trio were on a routine patrol in the Macchil sector and slipped into the gorge on Tuesday, January 10.
"During a regular op task in the forward area, a party of 01 JCO & 02 OR slipped into a deep gorge, when snow on the track gave way. Mortal remains of all the three bravehearts have been retrieved," the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps wrote on Twitter.
About deceased soldiers
The deceased soldiers were identified as Naib Subedar Parshotam Kumar, Havildar Amrik Singh and sepoy Amit Sharma.
43-year-old Kumar, a native of Jammu and Kashmir’s Bishnah area, had joined the Army in 1996. He is survived by his wife and two children.
39-year-old Singh had joined the Army in 2001 and hailed from Una district in Himachal Pradesh. He is survived by his wife and one son.
23-year-old Sharma had joined the Army in 2019 and belonged to Hamirpur district in Himachal Pradesh. He is survived by his mother.
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Soldiers were on routine task
Giving further details, a defence spokesman said the incident took place at around 5.30 pm on Tuesday when a team of soldiers was on a routine operational task.
He said a search and rescue operation was immediately launched with troops from the nearest post. “Inspite of adverse weather conditions and rough terrain, sustained efforts of the search party led to the recovery of mortal remains of the three brave soldiers today morning between 04:15 to 04:45 AM,” he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
