Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) expressed shock and grief over the loss of life and serious injuries to the Army Soldiers on duty in a road accident when the vehicle in which they are travelling fell into a vally at Zema in North Sikkim.
CM KCR condoled the death of 16 soldiers in the mishap. KCR expressed deep sympathies to the bereaved families of the army Soldiers and Officers. CM KCR appealed to the Center extend support to the families of the deceased soldiers and provide proper medical services to the injured.
The mishap took place at around 8 a.m. at Zema 3, about 15 kms away from Lachen, located at a distance of around 130 km away from State capital Gangtok.
Chungthang Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Arun Thatal informed that the Army vehicle was heading towards the border posts with 20 occupants. The vehicle seemed to have veered off the road while negotiating a curve in the Zema 3 area and crashed hundreds of feet down.
All 16 bodies have been recovered from the crash site. The condition of the four critically injured Army personnel remains unknown, said Thatal, who was at the spot with a police team from Lachen.
The bodies are being taken to State-run STNM Hospital in Gangtok for post-mortem and later will be handed over to the Army. The regiment of the victims is yet to be ascertained, he added.
