Army vehicle plunges into gorge in J&K, 5 soldiers killed

Five soldiers were killed and as many others injured when an Army vehicle skidded off the road and rolled down a 300-feet deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch district on Tuesday evening, officials said, while ruling out any terror angle. A defence spokesperson said the cause of the accident is being ascertained but "possibly, the driver lost control at the turn of the road". The accident occurred in the Gharoa area when a convoy of six vehicles was en route from Nilam Headquarters to Balnoi Ghora Post. The officials said rescue teams have recovered five bodies from the gorge which is 300-350 feet deep.
The injured soldiers have been shifted to the field hospital in Poonch, he said, adding one of them is in critical condition."One 2.5 Ton vehicle, part of a convoy of six vehicles, while moving on the operational track near Poonch, went off the road into a nallah. Operational track is on the home side of the LOC fence," the defence spokesperson said in a statement.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed his deep sorrow and over the incident near the forward post along the Line of Control (LoC). He extended deepest sympathies to the bereaved families of the soldiers, a spokesman said.The Army, meanwhile, ruled out terrorism angle in the incident. "A terrorist Initiated Incident positively ruled out after confirming from ground sources. Own post approximately 130 m from the incident site and backup vehicle was barely 40 meters away," he said.