President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressed their condolences on the death of nine soldiers who were killed on Saturday after their truck skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Leh district of Ladakh. President Murmu said she was "deeply anguished" by the news of the accident and added that "the nation owes a great debt of gratitude to these soldiers for their selfless sacrifice".

'Deeply anguished to learn that a road accident in Leh led to loss of lives of Indian Army personnel. I convey my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. May God give them strength to bear this tragedy. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured. The nation owes a great debt of gratitude to these soldiers for their selfless sacrifice,' Rashtrapati Bhavan said on 'X' formerly known as Twitter.