India says seven troops killed in accident near disputed border with China

Published May 27, 2022
This file photo shows India's Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint along a highway leading to Ladakh. — Reuters/File
This file photo shows India's Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint along a highway leading to Ladakh. — Reuters/File

At least seven Indian soldiers were killed and 19 others injured in a road accident in the remote Ladakh region, close to the country's disputed border with China, police said on Friday.

The world's two most populous nations redirected tens of thousands of additional troops into the high-altitude Himalayan region after a deadly hand-to-hand battle in June 2020 left at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.

“Seven soldiers killed, 19 injured in the remote Nubra area,” a senior police officer in Ladakh told AFP.

The incident happened early Friday when a vehicle carrying the soldiers for deployment close to the contested frontier skidded off the road and plunged about 15 metres (50 feet) into the Shyok River, according to the official.

“Anguished by the bus accident in Ladakh in which we have lost our brave army personnel,” India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted.

“My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I hope those injured recover at the earliest. All possible assistance is being given to the affected.”

India and China, after fighting a full-scale border war in 1962, have long accused each other of trying to seize territory along their unofficial divide, which is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Relations have soured dramatically since a June 2020 clash along one section between Ladakh and Tibet.

Both sides have since reinforced the region with extra soldiers, military hardware and new infrastructure as multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks have failed to de-escalate tensions.

Opinion

Editorial

On the brink
Updated 25 Sep, 2023

On the brink

Everyone and every sector has to rise together, in sync, if this country is to put itself on a progressive trajectory.
Sanaullah’s remarks
25 Sep, 2023

Sanaullah’s remarks

THE hypocrisy of our democratic leadership is a gift that keeps giving. Last week, the president of the PML-N in...
Print in digital age
25 Sep, 2023

Print in digital age

THERE is a shocking amount of disinformation out there in the Information Age. While electronic and social media ...
World Cup squad
24 Sep, 2023

World Cup squad

THE stress was on continuity — trusting and backing players who had been with the team — as Pakistan’s squad...
Mirwaiz freed
Updated 24 Sep, 2023

Mirwaiz freed

It is safe to assume that the release of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq could not have been possible without the green light from New Delhi.
Beyond lip service
24 Sep, 2023

Beyond lip service

UN SECRETARY GENERAL António Guterres did not mince words at the recently held Climate Ambition Summit: “Humanity...