Injury and drowning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n
A senior government official told\u00a0The Hindu\u00a0<\/em>that an analysis of the medical reports of the 20 men killed showed that the cause of death in most cases was a \u201cmix of head injury and drowning.\u201d The bodies were retrieved from the Galwan river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n \u201cAs many as 15 deceased personnel had head injuries, one or two had injuries on the chest and remaining had shoulder and knee injuries. Their bodies were badly bruised as they had toppled into the river,\u201d said the official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n At least 75 personnel, who were injured in the incident, had \u201cblunt injuries\u201d on head, chest and back, inflicted by rods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ministry of External Affairs had issued a statement that the \u201cChinese side took premeditated and planned action that was directly responsible for the resulting violence and casualties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n As reported earlier, the violent clashes took place on June 15 after Colonel Santosh Babu, who was commanding the unit, dismantled a tent erected by the Chinese and set it on fire. Col. Babu was among the Army personnel killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Officials said the understanding to remove the tent in Galwan valley was taken at a meeting on June 6 between the two armies. The official said after the tent was removed on June 15 evening, Col. Babu went to patrol the area with a small team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen the team arrived there late in the evening, the violent reaction from the Chinese should have been anticipated and factored in. The troops fought on the edge of a cliff where normally no more than two people can stand together; it had also become dark,\u201d the official said, adding that had it been a flat terrain, the deaths wouldn\u2019t have occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n After analysing the chain of events, officials believe that the Chinese People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) was also annoyed as India had constructed a helipad till the edge of Y-nallah at Galwan, not very far from the June 15 clash site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA similar clash took place on May 5 in the Finger area near Pangong Tso (lake). The intensity of the Galwan clash was more or less similar but the terrain and the spiked batons the Chinese were carrying cost so many lives. It was the first occasion when a clash like this occurred after sun-down,\u201d said the official.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n The entire stretch along LAC in Ladakh has witnessed \u201cworrisome hardening of Chinese positions\u201d since April-May, with China occupying a considerable area from Finger 4 to 8 near Pangong Tso (lake).<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n After the June 22 Corps Commander level talks, China has neither vacated nor removed the prefabricated or semi permanent structures built since May in some of the disputed sites. However there has been a \u201cnoticeable thinning of presence of Chinese troops\u201d, officials said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\nHostile terrain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n