Three Army men were killed when their vehicle skidded off the road and plunged into a 500-feet deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district on Sunday, officials said.
The army vehicle was part of a convoy moving from Jammu to Srinagar along national highway 44 when the accident occurred near Battery Chashma at around 11.30 am, the officials said.
A joint rescue operation was launched immediately by army, police, SDRF and local volunteers and three soldiers, travelling in the vehicle, were found dead on-the-spot.
The deceased were identified as sepoys Amit Kumar, Sujeet Kumar and Man Bahadur and their bodies are being retrieved from the gorge, the officials said, adding the crash reduced the vehicle into a mangled heap of metal.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ramban Kulbir Singh said initial findings suggested that a mechanical failure might have caused the accident.
"When we inspected the spot, we found a nut bolt there, which could probably have come from the steering wheels. So, I think the driver lost control of the steering wheel due to that nut bolt. This seems to be prima facie the cause of the accident. However, things will be clear only after an investigation," he said.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has condoled the loss of lives of army personnel due to a tragic road accident in Ramban.
In a condolence message, the Lieutenant Governor said: “Deeply pained by the loss of lives of our brave army personnel due to a tragic road accident in Ramban. My sincere condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief".