Jammu, August 6, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Two Army personnel were injured in a landmine explosion while attempting to defuse an explosive device in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, officials said on Thursday.
The incident took place on Wednesday night at Kanga Gali in the Mendhar sector when the soldiers were trying to neutralise the landmine detected by an Army patrol team.
“The injured soldiers were immediately rushed to an Army hospital for treatment. The landmine was noticed by a patrolling party of the Army, following which experts were called in to defuse the explosive device,” officials said.
Forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) are equipped with anti-infiltration obstacle systems that include landmines. However, during heavy rainfall, some of these explosives can get displaced from their original locations.
Such explosives are commonly referred to as “drift landmines”. A large number of accidents along the LoC have been linked to these mines, which are moved by natural forces such as heavy monsoon rains, flash floods and soil erosion.
Officials said severe weather conditions in mountainous terrain can dislodge buried anti-personnel mines and carry them into previously cleared areas, patrol routes and civilian zones, creating risks for security personnel, border residents and livestock.
In the past, incidents involving drift landmines have been reported from areas including Baramulla, Poonch and Rajouri districts, where minefields form part of the security grid along the LoC.
Meanwhile, a rusted unexploded ordnance was recovered from the Nalwa Degwar Terwan area in Poonch. The device, suspected to be a hand grenade, was spotted by labourers engaged in road construction work.
The Army’s bomb disposal squad later safely destroyed the explosive device, officials said.
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