Two Indian Army soldiers were injured on Wednesday night when a landmine they were attempting to defuse detonated in Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir, according to officials. The incident occurred at Kanga Gali in the Mendhar sector, where a patrolling party had earlier spotted the explosive device and summoned a specialist team to neutralise it.

What Happened at Kanga Gali

The patrolling party detected the landmine and called in expert personnel to carry out the defusal. The device detonated before the operation could be completed, injuring the two soldiers. 'The injured soldiers were immediately rushed to an Army hospital for treatment,' officials said. Their current condition has not been officially disclosed.

Separately, a rusted unexploded ordnance — believed to be a hand grenade — was recovered from the Nalwa Degwar Terwan area by labourers engaged in road construction work. The device was subsequently destroyed safely by the Army's bomb disposal squad.

The Drift Landmine Threat Along the LoC

Officials explained that the forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) are seeded with landmines as part of an anti-infiltration obstacle system. These devices are technically classified as 'drift landmines' — mines that are dislodged from their original positions by monsoon rains, flash floods, soil erosion, and mudslides, and carried into previously cleared or unmarked pathways.

Heavy monsoon weather strips away the safety of mapped and fenced minefields by shifting buried, often rusted anti-personnel explosives down ridges and into streams or patrol routes. The result is that mines end up in areas where soldiers, border residents, and livestock have no warning of their presence.

A Recurring Hazard Across Districts

This is not an isolated incident. Drift landmine accidents have occurred previously in Baramulla, Poonch, and Rajouri districts — all areas where strips of 'No Man's Land' are covered by anti-infiltration landmine grids. The combination of rugged mountain terrain and increasingly severe monsoon seasons has made drift landmines one of the most persistent hazards for troops and civilians in the region.

Notably, the Mendhar sector in Poonch sits in a particularly sensitive zone close to the LoC, where terrain and weather conditions make mine displacement a recurring seasonal risk.

What Comes Next

Army units continue to conduct patrolling and ordnance clearance operations across the affected sectors. As the monsoon season intensifies, the risk of further drift landmine incidents in Poonch, Rajouri, and Baramulla districts is expected to remain elevated. Authorities have not announced any change in operational protocols in the wake of Wednesday's incident.