In a tragic incident in North Sikkim on Friday, as many as 16 Indian Army jawans were martyred in a road mishap.

According to reports, an army vehicle carrying the jawans fell off a cliff into a deep ditch killing 16 jawans in it.

Meanwhile, it has come to the fore that three among the deceased jawans were Junior Commissioned Officers (JCO).

The incident took place at Jema hills, a remote area about 15 kilometers from Lachen town in Sikkim.

The vehicle that fell into the ditch was reportedly part of a three-vehicle convoy that was coming from Chatten and was headed to Thangu. The incident happened as it was trying to negotiate a sharp turn.

A rescue mission was launched immediately and four of the injured soldiers were airlifted.

Taking to Twitter, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the incident. He wrote, "Deeply pained by the loss of lives of the Indian Army personnel due to a road accident in North Sikkim."

"The nation is deeply grateful for their service and commitment. My condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of those who are injured," he further tweeted.