STATE TIMES NEWS
Leh: Nine soldiers were martyred and another was critically injured when their vehicle skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Leh district of Ladakh on Saturday, officials said. The accident took place near Kiari in southern Ladakh’s Nyoma, the officials said. Senior Superintendent of Police of Leh P D Nitya said the Army vehicle, with 10 personnel on board, was on its way to Nyoma from Leh when its driver lost control and it plunged into a gorge at 4.45 pm. A police team rushed to the spot and all the injured soldiers were shifted to an Army medical facility where eight personnel were declared dead. Another jawan died subsequently, she said. The officer said one more jawan was undergoing treatment and his condition was stated to be “critical”. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took to social media to offer condolences for the deaths. “Saddened by the loss of Indian Army personnel due to an accident near Leh in Ladakh. We will never forget their exemplary service to our nation. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. The injured personnel have been rushed to the Field Hospital. Praying for their speedy recovery,” he wrote in a tweet on Twitter, now rebranded as X. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said he received the news of “extremely heart-wrenching news” about the incident in Ladakh. “I pray to God to grant peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved family members to bear this immense pain. Your life devoted to the service of the nation is a source of inspiration for all the countrymen,” he said in a post.