2 jawans die during army exercise in Thar desert

Two army soldiers died during the over-month long exercise 'Shatrujeet' that culminated here on Saturday. Army sources on the ground in the Thar desert, where the mega exercise of the 3 Strike Corps took place near the Pakistan borders, told dna that while one soldier died of a snake bite, another died after falling down from a vehicle that was being plied in the rough terrain to carry personnel and equipment.

A senior officer participating in the exercise, who didn't wish to be named as he was not authorised to speak to the press, said that the first jawan was bitten by a snake while sleeping at night. "Unfortunately, he himself didn't realise initially that a snake had bitten him. Hours later, when he complained of complications, he was attended to by the on-ground army doctor, who found that he'd been bitten. He was immediately evacuated but couldn't be saved," the officer said.

About 30,000 troops from the strike corps formations comprising units from armoured, infantry and artillery units participated in the exercise to validate its proactive war strategy of inflicting huge damage inside the enemy territory.

A formal reaction from the army couldn't be obtained till the time of going to the press.