Indian Army soldier's body recovered after truck he was driving fell into Teesta River
The deceased solider has been identified as Thakor Rasangji Savaji
The body of the Indian Army soldier who was driving a truck when it fell into Teesta River last week has been recovered. A joint operation by a team of the Army, National Disaster Response Force and Disaster Management Group of West Bengal Police divers managed to recover the missing body.
The deceased has been identified as 25-year-old Thakor Rasangji Savaji. The body has been taken over by the Army after post-mortem and is currently on its way to Savaji's hometown of Silipur in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
He is survived by his wife and a nine-month-old son. The Indian Army released a statement and paid tribute to the fallen soldier.
"General Manoj Pande #COAS & All Ranks salute the supreme sacrifice of Sepoy Thakor Rasangji Savaji, who laid down his life in the line of duty at #Sikkim and offer deepest condolences to the bereaved family," read the statement.
Last Wednesday, Savaji was driving the truck with a lone passenger when it skidded off the road and fell into the rover. The passenger managed to escape the tumbling truck, suffering injuries but Savaji went missing.
“Indian Army truck while on operational duty moving from Gangtok towards Sevoke road skidded off the road and fell into Teesta River at 11:30 am today. One passenger and driver were on the truck. The passenger managed to jump out and sustained injuries. Search op for the driver and vehicle underway,” the Indian Army said in a statement at the time.
Savaji's unfortunate death was a freak accident as he had been driving in the hilly areas for operational duties for the last four years. Apart from Sikkim, he had driven the truck in the treacherous terrain of Jammu & Kashmir.
A police and departmental inquiry has been launched into the matter to ascertain the real cause of the accident.
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Notably, last year, seven soldiers were killed similarly after an army vehicle skidded off the road and fell into the Shyok River in Ladakh’s Turtuk sector.
(With inputs from agencies)
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