Five Army soldiers lost their lives when their vehicle caught fire after being attacked by terrorists while moving from Bhimber Gali to Sangiot in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. officials said.
#UPDATE | Five soldiers of the Indian Army lost their lives after an army truck caught fire in the Poonch district of Jammu & Kashmir today: PRO Defence Jammu
— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2023
“Today, at about 1500 hours, one vehicle of Indian army, while moving from Bhimber Gali to Sangiot in district Poonch (J&K), caught fire,” Public Relations Officer (Defence), Jammu, said.
“In this tragic incident five soldiers of the Indian Army have lost their lives,” he said.
He said further details are being ascertained about the nature of incident.
Some reports suggested a sticky bomb or an ambush might have triggered the fire, but officials were unavailable for comments.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh “anguished” by the death of five Indian Army soldiers who lost their lives after a truck caught fire in the Poonch district of J&K today https://t.co/rvdHP0d39Q pic.twitter.com/IfXLPMRQGs
— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2023
Army and police personnel have rushed to the spot, which is 90 kilometres from Poonch.
Visuals showed semi-burnt bodies of the soldiers lying on the road beside the burning truck. It was not immediately clear how many soldiers were there in the vehicle when it caught fire.
#WATCH | Drone surveillance and search operation underway in the area where terrorists fired on an Indian Army truck in J&K’s Poonch
5 Army soldiers lost their lives, one injured hospitalised
(Visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/4VWNblD4oz
— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2023
Local people and some army personnel were seen extinguishing the fire.
Army and police rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area and put halt on the vehicular traffic on the highway, the sources said.
It was later clarified that the accident happened due to terrorist attack and there are speculations about usage of grenades after open firing.
An Army vehicle moving between Bhimber Gali and Poonch in the Rajouri sector in J&K was fired on by unidentified terrorists today. The vehicle caught fire, due to likely use of grenades by terrorists. Five personnel of the Rashtriya Rifles Unit deployed for Counter Terrorist… pic.twitter.com/a3ytvsAZbu
— ANI (@ANI) April 20, 2023
Source: PTI
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