Jammu, August 6: Two soldiers were injured while attempting to defuse a landmine in the Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir. Officials reported that the incident occurred on Wednesday night in the Kanga Gali area of the Mendhar sector when the landmine exploded during the defusal attempt.
The injured soldiers were immediately transported to an army hospital for treatment. A patrol party discovered the landmine, prompting the call for experts to safely neutralize the explosive device.
It is important to note that landmines are often laid in border areas as part of infiltration prevention systems. However, these mines can sometimes be displaced by rain. Technically referred to as ‘drift landmines,’ most accidents along the Line of Control (LoC) are attributed to these devices.
Accidents involving drift landmines near the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir typically occur when heavy rains, sudden floods, or soil erosion cause older anti-personnel mines to shift from their original locations, which were previously declared clear or safe.
When these explosives drift into unmarked areas, they pose serious threats to patrolling soldiers, local residents, and livestock. Severe weather events, such as cloudbursts or sudden landslides, can significantly erode mountainous terrain where security grids are established.
Due to water flow, buried and often rusted anti-personnel explosives can slide down slopes into rivers or patrol routes, compromising the safety of previously mapped and secured minefields.
In the Union Territory, areas in Baramulla, Poonch, and Rajouri are designated as ‘no man’s land,’ where landmines have been laid under infiltration prevention grids. There have been previous incidents caused by shifting landmines in these regions.
Meanwhile, a rusty unexploded device was found in the Nalwa Degwar area, which was later safely destroyed by the army’s bomb disposal squad. Officials stated that some workers engaged in road construction spotted the object, believed to be a hand grenade.
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