5 Army personnel die in training activity in eastern Ladakh after tank gets stuck in river

The five personnel have been identified as: Risaldar MRK Reddy, Havildar Subhan Khan, Daffadar Bhupendra Negi, Lance Daffadar Ekeidaung Teibam and Craftsman S Nagaraju. One of the bodies has been recovered in the rescue operation, Army officials said.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said he was “deeply saddened” at the loss of lives of the five Army soldiers. “We will never forget the 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 wrote on X.

A troop of Russian-origin T-72 tanks was engaged in fording activity as part of the exercise, Army sources said. The training area is ahead of the river, and fording training is carried out while crossing the river on tanks. Fording is a manoeuvre used by tanks or other semi-amphibious vehicles to cross water obstacles which are usually several metres deep. At times, the platform traversing the depth gets fully submerged in water.

A troop has around three tanks, and a tank generally comprises a crew of three. There were two other soldiers present with the crew. While the leading tank managed to cross the river, at least one of the tanks drifted due to high currents and a sudden increase in water levels of the river, and eventually got stuck in the river, said the sources.

The change in the water levels of the river was sudden and unexpected. Despite attempts to rescue them, the five Army personnel, who managed to stay stuck to the tank’s turret for several hours since Friday evening, got swept away due to the strong river currents, the sources said.

A rescue squad, comprising nine combat engineers attempted a mission in a BAUT (boat assault universal type), a type of military boat, but the operation failed due to strong river currents, the officials said. The rescue operations to retrieve the bodies are currently underway, they said.

In the area where the training was on, the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been constructing an alternate road to DBO—connecting Sasoma, Saser La and Gapshan. The existing 255-km long Durbuk-Shyok-DBO road running along the LAC is currently the only full operational road to reach DBO.

Since the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020, there has been an increased armoured deployment in strategic DBO area of eastern Ladakh. DBO lies less than 10 km west of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) at Aksai Chin. A military outpost was created in DBO in reaction to China’s occupation of Aksai Chin and is at present manned by a combination of Army’s Ladakh Scouts and the ITBP.

While initially only one brigade of tanks was deployed in the area, it was increased to two brigades with an increased number of battalions. Since the deployment, they have been carrying out routine training there so that the crew and tanks are familiar with the area and likely situations.

India and China have been engaged in a military standoff in eastern Ladakh since 2020.

Friction points such as Galwan Valley, north and south banks of Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot Springs area have seen some amount of resolution since the beginning of current military standoff between India and China in 2020 with the creation of buffer zones along the LAC.