The army said on Sunday that intensive search operations were being conducted since May 28 to trace two of its personnel deployed in the forward areas of Anjaw district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The Tezpur-based Army PRO said in a statement: “Naik Prakash Singh and Lance Naik Harender Singh, deployed in a forward post of Arunachal Pradesh, (are) presumed to have accidentally fallen into a fast-flowing river in close proximity to their post.”

The jawans hail from Uttarakhand and belong to the 7 Garhwal Rifles.

“Family members of the two soldiers have been informed of the unfortunate incident and are being regularly updated.… A court of inquiry to investigate the incident has been convened by the Army,” the statement said.

Anjaw is one of the 12 districts of the frontier state that shares a 1,080km porous border with China which claims Arunachal Pradesh to be a part of South Tibet. Anjaw in eastern Arunachal is about 500km from capital Itanagar.

The statement said the extensive search-and-rescue operations included aerial reconnaissance and use of tracker dogs “but no success in recovery of the personnel has been achieved”.