Wreath-laying ceremony for Army soldiers killed in Sikkim to be held at Bagdogra today
A wreath-laying ceremony to pay tribute to the 16 soldiers who died in a road accident at Zema in North Sikkim will be held today.
The Army said in a statement. Sixteen Army soldiers were killed and four others injured after their vehicle skidded down a steep slope near North Sikkim on Friday.
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. The wreath-laying ceremony will be held at Bagdogra airport technical area on Saturday between 12.30 pm and 2 pm today.
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.
16 ARMY SOLDIERS KILLED IN SIKKIM
The ill-fated Army truck was part of a three-vehicle convoy that was travelling from Chatten to Thangu. Enroute at Zema, the vehicle met with an accident. It skidded down a slope while taking a sharp turn, which led to the fatal accident, killing 16 Army men, including three junior commissioned officers.
A rescue operation was immediately launched and four injured soldiers were air evacuated.
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 in a statement.
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.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi expressed pain in the loss of the lives of the soldiers and offered condolences to the bereaved families.