Sikkim: 16 army personnel dead as truck falls into gorge
The Ministry of Defence informed that an Army truck met with an accident at Zema in north Sikkim on Friday claiming the lives of 16 Indian Army soldiers. The deceased included three Junior Commissioned Officers and 13 soldiers. Relief and rescue operations were launched immediately and four soldiers, who sustained injuries, were evacuated using helicopters.
Distressing scenes from the accident site show the mangled truck
Army truck skidded, fell into gorge
The truck was a part of a three-vehicle convoy headed to Thangu from Chatten. As it was negotiating a sharp turn, it skidded down a steep slope and fell into a gorge. The Indian Army expressed its condolences to the bereaved families. Earlier in June, two soldiers of the Indian Army's First Battalion Sikkim Scouts died in a road accident in Dzuluk, East Sikkim.
