Two jawans of the Territorial Army (TA) of the Madras Regiment were killed on Sunday while one remained untraced and four others were injured as a vehicle carrying 18 soldiers skidded off the road and toppled into river Kundil in Lower Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh.
Army sources informed that the incident occurred at around 2.30 am in between Iduli and Kabang village when a unit of the Madras Regiment of Territorial Army based at Chapakhowa, Sadiya in Tinsukia district was conducting a counter-insurgency operation in the area.
“Fifteen jawans were rescued safely from the river by fellow soldiers. A team of Arunachal Police from nearby Roing also rushed to the spot and aided the rescue operation. Four jawans, who were injured in the mishap, were shifted to the Chapakhowa First Referral Unit (FRU) for treatment,” said a police official.
Roing Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar Sain said that efforts were on to trace the missing soldier. A team of the 12th Batallion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Doimukh was also summoned for the rescue operation. The identities of the dead soldiers have not been revealed by the Army sources.
As per information, the army and police are conducting operation in Kundil Reserve Forest in the general area of Chappakhoa along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border since last night, defence sources said.
According to Kohima-based defence spokesperson Col Chiranjit Konwar, the incident took place during the relocation of army column in the wee hour on Sunday when one of the vehicles of the column skidded off the road and fell in fast-flowing river Kundil. He said the injured have been provided medical assistance and the search of the missing soldier was going on.