76 Indian soldiers injured in Ladakh clash, none of them critical: Army

Seventy-six Indian soldiers, who were injured during a clash with the Chinese troops at Galwan Vally in eastern Ladakh, were undergoing treatment at various hospitals, the Army said on Thursday.

It added that none of those injured was critical.

“Eighteen soldiers are at our hospital in Leh. They will be out on duty in about 15 days. Fifty-eight soldiers are at other hospitals. They should be back on duty within a week,” the Army said in a statement.

Twenty soldiers, including a colonel, were killed in a violent clash with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley on Monday night, in the biggest military confrontation between the two armies in over five decades. According to unconfirmed reports, the Chinese side, too, suffered over 40 casualties.

Reports suggested that the Indian soldiers were attacked with iron rods, nail-studded clubs and rocks wrapped in barbed wire in the fight near Patrol Point 14.

The Army on Thursday clarified that no Indian soldier is missing in action after the unprecedented face-off with Chinese troops.

Meanwhile, the Major Generals of the two armies met for the second time on Thursday to diffuse the tension after their first round of talks on Wednesday remained inconclusive.

A large number of Indian and Chinese troops were engaged in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation in Galwan Valley and certain other areas of eastern Ladakh for last five weeks.

The two armies are engaged in the standoff in Pangong Tso, Galwan Valley, Demchok and Daulat Beg Oldie in eastern Ladakh.

A sizeable number of Chinese Army personnel even transgressed into the Indian side of the de-facto border in several areas including Pangong Tso.

The Indian Army has been fiercely objecting to the Chinese transgressions, and demanded their immediate withdrawal for restoration of peace and tranquility in the area.

Both sides held a series of talks in the last few days to resolve the row.  On Saturday, Gen Naravane said both sides are "disengaging" in a phased manner.

Following the standoff in eastern Ladakh, the two sides have deployed additional troops along the LAC, the de-facto Sino-India border, in North Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh in the last few days.