Two Soldiers Killed After Rope Snaps During Routine River Crossing Exercise In Bengal

Six soldiers were taking part in the river crossing exercise on Wednesday. While the first three made it across safely, the rope suddenly snapped when the remaining were crossing.

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New Delhi: Two Indian Army soldiers died after the rope snapped during a routine river crossing exercise at Barrackpore near Kolkata on Wednesday, news agency IANS reported.

According to the report, the incident took place at the Sarovar Lake within the Barrackpore Cantonment, about 40 km north of Kolkata.

According to an Eastern Command official, six soldiers were taking part in the river crossing exercise on Wednesday. While the first three made it across safely, the rope suddenly snapped when the remaining were crossing. While one soldier could be rescued, the other two drowned.

Notably, river crossing exercises are held at the lake on a routine basis where the soldiers are expected to cross the water body with the help of a rope that stretches across the lake.

Such combat exercises are usually held with all the trappings of a real-life situation, including 'enemy posts' that maintain watch. This means that the soldiers taking part in the exercise are in full battle gear. It is a 'touch and go' situation if a soldier loses his grip on the rope, unless he is an expert swimmer.

"Unfortunately, that is how it is. The Army needs to train its personnel for all situations. We have been part of such exercises. Life jackets are not an option, given the weight a soldier carries. Such incidents are unfortunate but rare. A probe is certainly required to know why the rope snapped. If somebody is found responsible, he should be punished," IANS quoted an army source as saying.

Lt Gen R.P. Kalita, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, along with other officers paid tributes to Naik Lengkholal and Sepoy Aldrin Hmingthanzwala.

While Naik Lengkholal was from Nagaland, Sepoy Hmingthanzwala belonged to Mizoram. Both were from the Assam Regiment. Their mortal remains are being flown back to their respective homes after completing the formalities, including autopsies. The Army has also set up a court of inquiry to probe the incident.