Five soldiers killed in flash floods while crossing Ladakh river in a tank near LAC

Leh: Five soldiers of the Indian Army were killed after they were swept away while crossing a river in a T-72 tank near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Nyoma-Chushul area in Ladakh early Saturday, officials said.

The five personnel including one Junior Commissioned Officer and four jawans lost their lives during a river crossing exercise at around 1am in Daulat Beg Oldie area, near Mandir Morh, 148 kilometres from Leh. All five bodies have been recovered.

The T-72 tank with five soldiers on board sank due to flash floods while they were crossing the river. A stream which was being crossed by the tanks during this exercise suddenly got flooded due to cloudburst in the higher reaches.

“A tank was caught in the flashflood wherein five soldiers got killed,” sources said. The sources ruled out any sabotage in this accident. 

“Deeply saddened at the loss of lives of five of our brave Indian Army soldiers in an unfortunate accident while getting the tank across a river in Ladakh,” Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took to X (formerly Twitter). “We will never forget exemplary service of our gallant soldiers to the nation. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. The nation stands firm with them during this hour of grief,” he added.