3 Andhra Pradesh soldiers among 5 dead in Ladakh flash flood

VIJAYAWADA: Among the five army soldiers who were swept away following flash floods in Shyok river near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh on Friday night, three were from Andhra Pradesh. The soldiers died when their Russian-origin T-72 tank got stuck while they were crossing the river which suddenly surged following flash flood.
The three soldiers were identified as S Nagaraju (32) from Chevendra village under Pedana mandal in Krishna district, M Ramakrishna Reddy (47) from Kaluvapalli village under Racherla mandal in Prakasam district, and Subhan Khan (40) from Islampur village under Repalle mandal in Bapatla district.
M Rama Krishna Reddy joined the army 25 years ago and was promoted as JCO. His family members and relatives said he was to retire in December this year. Both his sons have also joined the armed forces - one in the army and the other in the air force.
Nagaraju, who joined the army in 2016, was with the 52 Armoured Regiment. He got married to Mangadevi in 2019. The couple was blessed with a baby girl, Hasini, a year ago. His brother, S Sivaiah, is also in the army.
Subhan Khan, who joined the army about a decade ago, was supposed to come home on leave on July 7. He had told his family that he had booked a flight for July 7 and would reach home the same night.
The mortal remains of the three soldiers reached Vijayawada on Monday evening. The last rites of the soldiers will be performed at their native places with military honours on Tuesday.