10 jawans die as vehicle falls into gorge in Doda

At least 10 soldiers were killed and 11 others injured after an armoured vehicle of the army carrying troops for an anti-terror operation skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district on Thursday, security and police officials said.

- Ravi Krishnan Khajuria

Ten grievously injured have been airlifted to Command Hospital, Udhampur.

(AN)

The accident took place at the high-altitude Khanni top (at 9,000 feet) along the Bhaderwah-Chamba interstate road around 10.30 am when the driver of the bulletproof army vehicle, Casspir, lost control and the vehicle plunged into a 200-foot-deep gorge, the officials said.

“A tragic accident took place on the Bhaderwah-Chamba road. A total of 10 jawans have lost their lives. Out of the 11 injured jawans, 10 grievously injured have been airlifted to Command Hospital, Udhampur,” Doda deputy commissioner Harvinder Singh said.

Preliminary reports suggested that the accident took place because there was frosted black ice on the road that caused the vehicle to slip off the road, Singh said. “The mortal remains of the deceased soldiers are being dispatched to their families.”