President Murmu, VP Dhankhar express condolences on death of 9 Army personnel in Ladakh

New Delhi [India], August 20 (ANI): President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed their condolences on the death of nine soldiers who were killed on Saturday after their truck skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Leh district of Ladakh.

President Murmu said she was “deeply anguished” by the news of the accident and added that “the nation owes a great debt of gratitude to these soldiers for their selfless sacrifice”.

“Deeply anguished to learn that a road accident in Leh led to loss of lives of Indian Army personnel. I convey my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. May God give them strength to bear this tragedy. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. The nation owes a great debt of gratitude to these soldiers for their selfless sacrifice,” Rashtrapati Bhavan said on ‘X’ formerly known as Twitter.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhakhar also condoled the bereaved families and prayed for early recovery of the injured.

According to defence officials, as many as nine Indian Army personnel were killed and one was injured after their vehicle fell into a gorge in Ladakh.

According to officials, the accident occurred around 6.30 pm. “The troops were moving from Karu garrison to Kyari near Leh,” they added.

“An ALS vehicle which was moving as part of a convoy from Leh to Nyoma, skidded into the valley at approximately 5:45-6:00 PM, 7 Km short of Kiari. There were 10 personnel travelling in the vehicle out of which nine died and one got injured. The injured personnel has been shifted to the hospital,” the Indian Army officials said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also condoled the death of soldiers who died after an Army truck fell into a river in Ladakh, saying their rich service to the nation will always be remembered.

Taking to social media platform ‘X’, PM Modi also expressed his condolence to the bereaved families of the deceased soldiers.

“Pained by the mishap near Leh in which we have lost personnel of the Indian Army. Their rich service to the nation will always be remembered. Condolences to the bereaved families. May those who are injured recover at the earliest,” the PM said.