Indian Army gives health update of 19 soldiers injured in Ladakh accident
Indian Army’s Western Command on Saturday said 19 soldiers, who were injured on Friday after the vehicle carrying them skidded off the road and tumbled into the Shyok river, in Ladakh’s Turtuk sector, are currently stable. In the accident, seven soldiers were killed.
“19 soldiers of Western Command injured in a bus accident near Partapur were airlifted and moved through Green Corridor in Chandigarh for treatment to Command Hospital. Prompt surgical procedures were undertaken and all are currently stable,” the Western Command tweeted.
The accident took place at 9am around 25km from Thoise. The 26 soldiers were moving in a privately hired vehicle from the transit camp at Partapur, where an Indian Army brigade is headquartered, to a forward location in an area the army calls Sub Sector Hanif.
“The vehicle skidded off the road and fell in Shyok river to a depth of around 50-60 feet, resulting in injuries to all occupants,” said one of the officials cited above.
The soldiers were initially evacuated to 403 Field Hospital at Partapur and later flown to Chandigarh for treatment at the Western Command Hospital, one of the army’s finest medical facilities in the country.
Station house officer at Nubra, Inspector Stanzin Dorje, said: “Prima facie, it appeared to be a case of driver’s negligence.”
Another police officer said, “The driver, Ahmed Shah of Changmar, lost control of the bus and it rolled down into a deep gorge, around 80 to 90 feet deep. Rescue operations were launched by Leh police, Army and locals.”
An FIR has been registered in connection with the case against Shah under sections 279 (rash or negligent driving), 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life), 304-A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at Nubra police station.
The incident is a reminder of how soldiers put their lives on the line daily to carry out their duties in remote areas, said an army official.