1 Army man killed in explosion in Ladakh

LEH :  One Army man was killed and six others injured when an explosive material went off inside the Chushul Garrison located near Sino-India border in Ladakh division of Jammu and Kashmir.
The explosion took place on July 29 at the Garrison, which is located 220 km from here, official sources said today.
According to official sources, the army jawans had on July 29 gone on patrolling duties to forward areas, 30 km ahead of Pangong Lake where they spotted an explosive device.
The device was carried back to the unit located at Chushul Garrison where some army jawans reportedly tinkered with it triggering a blast, the sources said, adding one jawan identified as Sepoy Gurmeet Singh was killed and six others were injured.
When contacted, Army spokesperson at the Udhampur-based Northern Command Col Rajesh Kalia said, “There was an accident during handling of explosives in the Unit lines”.
He, however, said there was one “fatal and five minor injuries”. The injured were discharged after first aid.
The Garrison is located adjacent to the Advance Landing Ground (ALG) at Chushul. The IAF had plans to restart this runway, which was operational in 1962 war, but had to shelve it later due to technical reasons. (AGENCIES)