Five Indian soldiers, including an officer, were killed during a military exercise in the eastern Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir when their tank was swept away by the raging waters of Shyok river, officials said on Saturday.
According to officials, the soldiers were trying to get the Russian origin T-72 tank across the river when the incident took place.
"Rescue teams were rushed to the location. However, due to high current and water levels, the rescue mission didn't succeed and the tank crew lost their lives," the officials said.
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, expressing grief over the incident, said he was deeply saddened by the unfortunate accident.
"Deeply saddened at the loss of lives of five of our brave Indian Army soldiers in an unfortunate accident while getting the tank across a river in Ladakh," Singh said in a post on X.
The incident comes at a time when the military standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh is now in its fifth year, with no indication of an immediate resolution to the outstanding problems along the contested Line of Actual Control.
Last August, nine soldiers were killed when an army truck, part of a three-vehicle convoy, veered off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Ladakh's Leh district.
