By Sumit Kumar Singh
New Delhi, Jun 17 (IANS): Several Indian Army soldiers are "critically injured" and are undergoing treatment, said government sources on Wednesday adding that "casualties could increase" further in what is being seen as one of the deadliest attack carried out by Chinese People's Liberation Army at Line of Actual Control.
Government sources said that the number of critically injured personnel is in double digit. Indian Army refused to comment on the numbers and stated that several are injured.
The attack on Indian Army personnel by the Chinese Army happened on Monday night and it continued for almost six to seven hours.
On Tuesday, Indian helicopters flew around 16 times to bring bodies and injured Indian Army personnel from the site of attack at Galwan Valley in Ladakh region, government sources said. Four bodies of Indian Army personnel were flown to Leh from Galwan on Wednesday morning.
On Tuesday, Indian Army stated that 20 of their men, including officers, were killed in an unprecedented violent clash with the PLA troops at Galwan. The force also said the attack was brutal and injuries sustained were critical.
Indian Army issued a statement late on Tuesday night, and said, "Seventeen Indian troops who were critically injured in the line of duty at the standoff location and exposed to sub-zero temperatures in the high altitude terrain have succumbed to their injuries, taking the total that were killed in action to 20."
The force further stated that Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged at the Galwan area where they had earlier clashed on the night of June 15 and June 16, 2020."
The force further stated that Indian Army is firmly committed to protecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the nation.
PLA soldiers had attacked a small group of Indian Army men on patrol on Monday night in which they killed three men, including the commanding officer.
Then intensity of the violent faceoff increased with reinforcements from the both sides and it continued till late night till the time they got exhausted. Many Indian soldiers went missing during the fight. Early on Tuesday, both Indian and Chinese top military officials rushed and called for a meeting to defuse the situation.
These are the first casualties faced by the Indian Army in the clash with the PLA since 1975 when an Indian patrol was ambushed by Chinese troops in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Monday night attack took place after Brigade Commander and company level talks happened in Eastern Ladakh between India and China on June 6. The talks were happening near patrolling point 14 near the mouth of the Galwan Valley.