NEW DELHI: Five Indian soldiers were killed when a military tank they were travelling in sank while crossing a river in the remote region of Ladakh near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) that divides India and China, officials confirmed on Saturday, TRT World reported.
The incident occurred early Saturday morning at Saser Brangsa, a remote area in Ladakh, when the tank encountered a sudden rise in water levels while crossing the Shyok River. An official statement from the Indian army’s command center attributed the accident to the unforeseen surge in river water during the military training activity.
Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh expressed deep sorrow over the incident, terming it as an “unfortunate accident” that led to the loss of five lives of Indian soldiers.
The region has been a focal point of heightened tensions between India and China since May 2020, when clashes erupted along the disputed border, resulting in casualties on both sides. The standoff escalated into a prolonged military confrontation in the rugged mountainous terrain, where substantial deployments from both Indian and Chinese military forces have been stationed.
Diplomatic and military dialogues between New Delhi and Beijing have been ongoing in an effort to resolve what has been described as the most serious military standoff between the two nations in decades. The border dispute between Indian and China itself traces back to the 1950s and culminated in a war in 1962.
