An Army personnel lost his life and two others were injured after an Indian Army truck skidded off National Highway-13 and plunged down a hillside near the PT Ground of the 30 Battalion, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), in Dirang of Arunachal Pradesh's West Kameng district on Friday afternoon.
The accident occurred at around 2 pm when the truck, belonging to the 18 Sikh Light Infantry, was on its way to the unit with three Army personnel on board. According to official sources, the vehicle lost control while negotiating the hilly stretch of the highway, crashed through the chain-link fence of the 30 Bn SSB campus, and rolled down the steep slope.
Personnel of the Rapid Rescue Team (RRT) of the 30 Bn SSB rushed to the spot immediately after receiving information about the mishap. The rescue team pulled the injured soldiers out of the badly damaged vehicle and shifted them for emergency medical treatment.
One of the injured soldiers was given first aid at the SSB Unit MI Room by the Unit Medical Officer before being referred to the District Hospital in Bomdila. The other two were taken to the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Dirang, where Subedar Surendar Singh succumbed to his injuries despite the efforts of the attending doctors.
The two surviving personnel are currently undergoing treatment at the District Hospital, Bomdila, and CHC, Dirang, respectively. Their condition is reported to be stable and under medical observation.
The SSB promptly informed the concerned Army authorities following the accident. The exact cause of the mishap is yet to be determined, and further investigation is underway.
The tragic incident once again underscores the challenges of travelling along the mountainous stretches of NH-13, where narrow roads, sharp bends and steep gradients often make driving hazardous.
