Ramban

Three soldiers lost their lives after the army truck they were travelling in fell around 200-300 metres into a gorge at Battery Chashma in Ramban district on Sunday, a Jammu and Kashmir Police official confirmed to ANI.

Teams from the police, Quick Reaction Team (QRT), Army, and CRPF rushed to the spot and are working to retrieve the bodies.

Speaking to ANI, Ramban Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kulbir Singh said, "A very unfortunate incident, an accident has taken place. Driver of an Army vehicle, which was part of a convoy, lost control of the vehicle, and it rolled down a gorge about 500 metres below. Three people were in the vehicle...Unfortunately, all three of them died. Police team, QRT, Army, CRPF teams reached the spot and are carrying out the operation. We are trying to retrieve the bodies and bring them up."

SSP Singh said that initial findings suggest a mechanical failure might have caused the accident.

"When we inspected the spot, we found a nutbolt there, which could probably have come from the steering wheels. So, I think the driver lost control of the steering wheel due to that nutbolt. This seems to be prima facie the cause of the accident. However, things will be clear only after an investigation," SSP Singh told ANI.

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Further details are awaited.