Sixteen Indian Army soldiers were killed and four others injured after the truck they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in north Sikkim, near the India-China border, on Friday.

In a statement, the army said three of the deceased were junior commissioned officers, while 13 were soldiers. The four survivors, who were travelling on the truck that was part of a three-vehicle convoy, were airlifted and admitted to an army hospital in Bengdubi near Siliguri.

The Himalayan state of Sikkim has been witnessing the increasing deployment of armed forces in recent months because of rising tension between India and China. However, it could not be immediately confirmed whether the deceased had recently moved to Sikkim as a part of the build-up along the border.

The mangled remains of the army truck. The Telegraph

Sources aware of the crash said a convoy of three vehicles was carrying army men from Chatten — an acclimatisation base in Mangan district of Sikkim — to Thangu, which is barely 1.5km from the international border, in the morning.

Around 8.15am, almost 45 minutes after the 2.5-tonne truck had left Chatten with 20 persons, it veered off the road and fell down a 1,000ft-deep slope. The incident took place at Zema, which is en route to Thangu, while the vehicle was negotiating a sharp turn.

The bodies of all the 16 deceased persons were seized by the army’s recovery unit with the help of Sikkim police.

“Given the difficult nature of the terrain and harsh wintry condition, the bodies were recovered with much difficulty. The bodies have been taken to the medical intervention unit of the army at Chatten where an inquest was carried out by the police,” said a source.

The mangled remains of the army truck. The Telegraph

Later, sources said the bodies would be shifted to a Gangtok hospital on Saturday for post-mortem, following which they would be handed over to the army.

Chatten, which is close to Lachen — a popular tourist destination located around 130km from Sikkim capital Gangtok, has an installation of the army. Thangu, a tiny hilly hamlet close to the Tibetan plateau located at a height of around 4,000 metres, is a strategic point as it is the last Indian village on the border.

One of the deceased persons was Gopinath Makur from Bankura in Bengal. The President, the Prime Minister and many others mourned the soldiers’ deaths. “Pained by the loss of lives of our brave army personnel due to a road mishap in Sikkim. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon,” tweeted the PMO.

Sikkim chief minister P.S. Tamang and his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee also expressed their condolences.

In Sikkim, defence personnel had lost their lives in similar accidents in the past as well. In June, two jawans died in a road accident in Zuluk.

In July last year, four soldiers were killed in east Sikkim on Jawaharlal Nehru Road which connects Gangtok with the Tsomgo Lake and Nathu-la when a vehicle carrying 15 soldiers of the Kumaon regiment went off the road and plunged into a 600ft deep gorge.

On the same route, three army personnel and the child of a colonel died in another accident at 17th Mile in December 2020.

Retired army officers based in this region said in such hilly terrains, experienced drivers are engaged by the defence forces. Also, vehicles are checked regularly.

“All necessary precautions are taken but even then, such accidents are reported. Such non-combat casualties are not desirable. We believe there will be a thorough probe into the incident to find out whether the vehicle had developed any sudden technical glitch and necessary advisories would be issued to drivers and others concerned to avert such accidents,” said an ex-serviceman based in Siliguri.