Sikkim gorge accident: Wreaths to be laid at Bagdogra

Bagdogra(WB): Wreaths will be laid at a solemn ceremony to be held here on Saturday for the 16 Army personnel who died in a tragic accident at Zema in North Sikkim, the Army said.

The 16 brave hearts of the Indian Army lost their lives when the Army truck they were travelling in skidded down a steep slope at Zema in North Sikkim on Friday morning, an Army statement said.

Wreaths will be laid on the mortal remains of the deceased soldiers at Bagdogra airport technical area on Saturday between 12.30 pm and 2 pm, it said.

The ill-fated Army truck was part of a three-vehicle convoy that was travelling from Chatten to Thangu, it said.

The vehicle skidded down a steep slope while negotiating a sharp turn, leading to the death of 16 Army men, including three junior commissioned officers, the statement said.

A rescue operation was immediately launched and four injured soldiers were air evacuated, it said.

The deceased soldiers are Naib Subedar Chandan Kumar Mishra and Naib Subedar Omkar Singh of 285 Medical regiment, L/Havildar Gopinath Makur, Sepoy Sukha Ram, Havildar Charan Singh and Naik Ravinder Singh Thapa of 26 Mechanised Infantry, the Army said.

From the 221 Field Regiment, Naik Vaisakh S and Naik Pramod Singh were among the deceased, while from the 25 Grenadiers, four soldiers who perished in the accident are L/Naik Bhupendra Singh, Naik Shyam Singh Yadav, Naik Lokesh Kumar and Grenadier Vikas Kumar.

Subedar Guman Singh and L/Havilder Arvind Singh from 8 Rajasthan Rifles, L/Naik Sombir Singh of 113 Engineer Regiment and L/Naik Manoj Kumar of 1871 Field Regiment were also among the soldiers who died in the accident, the Army said.