NEW DELHI: Sixteen soldiers were killed in India’s remote northeast when military truck transporting them skidded down steep mountain slope and crashed, Army said.

Accident occurred in state of Sikkim while truck carrying soldiers was negotiating treacherous turn in mountainous area near border with China. “A rescue mission was immediately launched and four injured soldiers have been air evacuated,” Indian Army’s eastern command said in statement, confirming three officers and 13 soldiers had died of injuries after accident.

Sikkim has some of India’s most dangerous high-altitude roads, particularly along its isolated Himalayan border with Tibet.

Accidents involving army vehicles near vast boundary with China and Pakistan leave many soldiers dead each year. In August, six paramilitaries were killed in an accident in India’s Illegally occupied Kashmir when an armoured vehicle carrying them rolled down mountain slope.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 24 2022

Like Business on Facebook, follow @DailyNCourier on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.