A Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) of the Indian Army lost his life after falling into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials confirmed on Saturday.
The Subedar was leading a search team in the Seri Mastan area of Behramgalla on Friday evening. According to officials, he lost his balance and slipped while negotiating a steep slope and fell into a deep gorge.
Shortly after the incident, Army troops launched a rescue operation and found the JCO dead on the spot. His body has been sent to his hometown for last rites after the completion of legal and medical formalities, officials said.
Last month, two Para Special Forces personnel were killed during a routine patrol when a snow avalanche triggered by heavy snowfall swept them away in a Kulgam forest.
According to official records, 12 soldiers have been killed in separate accidents in Kulgam, Doda, Kishtwar, and Ladakh in recent months.
The deadliest accident occurred on May 4 in Ramban, when a convoy vehicle skidded off the Jammu–Srinagar Highway and plunged into a 700-foot-deep gorge, killing three personnel.
Earlier, in January, four soldiers died in Bandipora after their vehicle slipped into a gorge amid poor visibility, while five others sustained injuries when an Army truck overturned in Poonch.
Most of these deaths have been attributed to bad weather conditions and poor visibility.
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