Kolkata, March 30 (IANS) Two Indian Army soldiers have been killed during a routine river crossing exercise at Barrackpore near Kolkata.

While Lt Gen R.P. Kalita, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, along with officers of other ranks paid tributes to Naik Lengkholal and Sepoy Aldrin Hmingthanzwala, the Army has set up a court of inquiry (CoI) to probe the incident that took place on Wednesday.

The tragic incident occurred at the Sarovar Lake within the Barrackpore Cantonment, about 40 km north of Kolkata. According to an Eastern Command official, assault river crossing exercises are held at the lake on a routine basis. The soldiers are expected to cross the water body with the help of a rope that stretches across the lake.

On Wednesday morning, six soldiers were participating in the exercise. While the first three made it across safely, the rope apparently snapped when the remaining were crossing. While one soldier could be rescued, the other two drowned.

Such exercises are usually held with all the trappings of a real-life situation, including 'enemy posts' maintaining watch. This means that the soldiers participating 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," said a source.

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 necessary formalities, including autopsies conducted to ascertain the cause of death.

--IANS

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