On Friday in the Zema district of North Sikkim, 16 soldiers of the Indian Army, including three junior commissioned officers (JCOs), perished in a horrific traffic accident.

Their Army truck went down a steep slope while navigating a hairpin turn, injuring four additional soldiers.

According to Army spokesman Lt Col Mahendra Rawat, “The unfortunate vehicle was part of a three-vehicle convoy that had travelled from Chatten towards Thangu in the morning.”