INDIA. Mumbai: Sixteen Indian Army personnel, including three Junior Commissioned Officers (JCOs), were killed and four others injured when their vehicle skidded off while negotiating a sharp turn at Zema, near North Sikkim, on Friday.
The truck was part of a three-vehicle convoy that had moved from Chatten in the morning towards Thangu.
“16 Army personnel lost their lives and four were injured in a road accident involving an Army truck at Zema, North Sikkim. The accident happened when the vehicle skidded down a steep slope while negotiating a sharp turn. “The Indian Army stands firm with the bereaved families at this hour of loss,” the Indian Army statement read.
President Droupadi Murmu said she was anguished to learn about the deaths of 16 Army personnel in a road accident in Sikkim. She offered heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
“I was angry to learn about the loss of lives of brave soldiers of the Indian Army in a road accident in Sikkim. My heartfelt condolences go out to the families of the deceased. “I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Murmu tweeted.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
The Prime Minister’s Office tweeted: “Pained by the loss of lives of our brave army personnel due to a road mishap in Sikkim.” Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon: PM @narendramodi.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh took to Twitter and said, “Deeply pained by the loss of lives of Indian Army personnel due to a road accident in North Sikkim.” The nation is deeply grateful for their service and commitment. My condolences go out to the bereaved families. “Praying for the speedy recovery of those who are injured,” he said.
The deceased
The deceased were identified as: Naib Subedar (TA) Chandankumar Mishra (Home Town: Khagaria, Bihar); Naib Subedar (AIG) Omkar Singh (Pathankot, Punjab); Lance Havildar Gopinath Makur (Bankura, West Bengal), Sepoy Sukharam (Jodhpur, Rajasthan), Havildar Charan Singh (Lucknow, UP), Naik Ravinder Singh Thapa (Pant Nagar, Uttarkhand),
Naik Vaisakh S (Palakkad, Kerala), Naik Pramod Singh (Ara, Bihar), Lance Naik Bhupender Singh (ETA, UP), Naik Shyam Singh Yadav (Unnao, UP), Naik Lokesh Kumar (Muzafarnagar, UP), GDR Vikas Kumar (Fatehabad, Haryana), Subedar Guman Singh (Jaislmer, Rajasthan), Lance Havildar Arvind Kumar (Bhiwani, Haryana), Lance Naik Somvir Singh (Hissar, Haryana), and Lance Naik Manoj Kumar (Jhunjhun, Rajasthan)
In the meantime, four injured soldiers were airlifted in a rescue operation launched by the Indian Army.
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