At least five soldiers lost their lives, and five others, including the driver, sustained severe injuries when their vehicle skidded off the road near the Line of Control (LoC) in the Poonch district on Tuesday evening.
In a post on X, the Nagrota-based White Knight Corps expressed their condolences: "All ranks of #WhiteKnightCorps extend their deepest condolences on the tragic loss of five brave soldiers in a vehicle accident during operational duty in the #Poonch sector. Rescue operations are ongoing, and the injured personnel are receiving medical care."
According to an official army statement, the incident involved a 2.5-ton vehicle that was part of a convoy of six vehicles traveling on an operational track near Poonch, on the Indian side of the LoC fence. The vehicle veered off the road and plunged into a rivulet (nullah) around 5:20pm.
The injured soldiers were immediately evacuated to a field hospital in Poonch, and rescue operations were swiftly initiated.
"The cause of the accident is being ascertained. Possibly driver lost control at a bend (in the road). A terrorist-initiated incident was positively ruled out after confirmation from ground sources. Own post was approximately 130 meters from the incident site and a backup vehicle was barely 40 meters away," the army statement said.
A senior intelligence official added that the vehicle, belonging to the 11 Maratha Light Infantry, was en route from Nilam headquarters to Balnoi Ghora Post along the LoC when it fell into a gorge about 150 feet deep. "Today at around 17:20 hrs (5.20 pm), an Army vehicle of 11 Maratha Light Infantry, which was on its way from Nilam headquarters to Balnoi Ghora Post along the LoC, met with an accident near Ghora Post," the official said.
Quick Reaction Teams (QRT) from the 11 Maratha Light Infantry, along with local police from Mankote, promptly arrived at the site to conduct rescue operations. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
