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As many as seven Indian Army personnel were killed and 19 others injured when a vehicle carrying them to a forward location near the country's border with China veered off a mountainous road and rolled down a deep gorge in the federal territory of Ladakh on Friday, officials said.
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"A party of 26 soldiers was moving from the Transit Camp in Partapur to a forward location in Sub Sector Hanif. ... around 25 km from Thoise, the vehicle skidded off the road and fell in Shyok river (to a depth of approx 50-60 ft)," an Indian Army spokesperson told the media.
While seven bodies were recovered from the gorge after a rescue operation, the 19 injured have been admitted to a field hospital in Partapur, a police officer told the local media. "The rescue operation began soon after news of the accident reached the nearest Army camp."
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Road accidents are very common in India, with one taking place every four minutes. These accidents are often blamed on poor roads, rash driving and scant regard for traffic laws. The Indian government's implementation of stricter traffic laws in recent years has failed to rein in accidents, which claim over 100,000 lives every year.