SRINAGAR: Two Army personnel lost their lives in an accidental explosion in the Uri sector of Jammu and Kashmir, close to the Line of Control (LoC), officials said on Wednesday.
The soldiers, identified as Arjun Jadhav and Vikram Balakrishna, both natives of Maharashtra, were attached to a unit deployed in the Uri sector, around 100 km north of Srinagar. The incident occurred in the Kamalkote area on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Srinagar-based Army spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Manoj Sahu, the two soldiers sustained critical injuries in what the Army described as an “accidental blast.” They were immediately evacuated to the Army’s 92 Base Hospital in Srinagar but succumbed to their injuries. Doctors declared them dead on arrival.
The Army has not released further details regarding the circumstances that led to the explosion. No official statement providing additional information had been issued till late Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, security agencies intensified preparations for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, scheduled to begin on July 3. Jammu and Kashmir Police and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) conducted a comprehensive joint mock drill in Pahalgam to assess security readiness along the pilgrimage route.
As part of enhanced security measures, the Union Territory administration has declared the Pahalgam and Baltal routes to the Amarnath cave shrine as “no-fly zones” from July 1 until the conclusion of the pilgrimage. The government has also announced the suspension of helicopter services for pilgrims during the yatra period.
