Army saves lives of two teenagers in Kashmir

Srinagar, Apr 29 (UNI) The Army today claimed to have saved the lives of two teenagers who had accidentally stepped on a landmine planted by troops near the Line of Control (LoC) in Gurez sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

On April 11, a defence spokesman said, two boys -- 15-year-old Bashir Malik and 13-year-old Jamir Malik -- on way to their school at Gulab village in the Gurez sector stepped on the drifted mine near the LoC, triggering a blast.

Both were critically wounded in the landmine explosion.

On hearing the sound of the explosion, troops deployed in the Gulab village rushed to the spot along with a medical team where they found the two boys critically wounded and bleeding profusely.

The spokesman said after administering the life-saving first aid on the spot, the two teenagers were rushed to the nearest helipad by the Army and immediately evacuated to 92 Base Hospital at Badami Bagh cantonment here.

He said specialist surgeons treated the boys at the hospital.

The entire expenditure of air evacuation and medical treatment was borne by the Army, the spokesman added.

He said while Jamir has recovered fully, Bashir's left hand has been amputated. He was still recuperating in the hospital.

The spokesman said the Army would provide an artificial limb to Bashir so as to help him start a new life.

UNI