Five Army men swept away in Ladakh river

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 29

Five Army personnel lost their lives when they were swept away while trying to get a tank across the Shyok river in eastern Ladakh early on Saturday.

The accident occurred when a column of tanks was crossing the fast-flowing Shyok as a part of an exercise in the dead of the night, said sources, adding that the five soldiers were in the last tank of the column that was to cross the river.

The Army uses T-72 tank as part of a drill to practise movement in exigency. Tanks have the ability to float in water while moving forward. In the past, key war-time movements have been done with tanks crossing rivers, including the well-documented crossing of the Meghna river in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) during the 1971 war with Pakistan.

In a statement on X, the Army’s 14 Corps, headquartered at Leh, said the incident occurred while the tank crew was “de-inducting from a military training activity”.

“An Army tank got stuck in the Shyok river, near Saser Brangsa, eastern Ladakh, due to a sudden increase in the water level,” the 14 Corps said. Rescue teams were rushed to the location, however, due to the swift current and the high water level, the rescue mission didn’t succeed and the tank crew lost their lives, it added.

The sources said even the rescue party in the boat had a narrow escape as the vessel capsized in the fast-flowing river. The five deceased personnel were from the Army’s Armoured Regiment. They are Risaldar MRK Reddy, Dafedar Bhupender Negi, Lance Dafedar Ekeidaung Tiebam, Hav Subhan Khan and Craftsman S Nagraju.

The Shyok river is the key water body that runs past the Depsang plains near Daulat Baig Oldie airfield. The Shyok that descends from the eastern flank of the Rimo Kangri glacier is a tributary of the Indus.

The sources said there was a sudden increase in the water level due to snow-melt. As the terrain does not have trees, the snow-melt rushes straight into the river in the valley.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh posted on X, “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.”

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