Two Para SF Soldiers Missing After Army Boat Capsizes in Yamuna in Haryana

September 2, 2026

Yamunanagar: A joint search and rescue operation is underway at the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district after two soldiers of 1 Para Special Forces (SF) went missing in the Yamuna river during a training exercise on Tuesday night, officials said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred during a night training exercise involving five personnel when their army boat suffered a technical snag. According to a statement by the Chandigarh-based defence public relations officer (PRO), the boat was caught in strong currents towards the downstream barrage.

“The teams made swift efforts to retrieve the boat. However, the boat got struck in strong eddies around the sluice gates and capsized, resulting in the crew getting swept away by the strong currents. Two members of the crew are presently missing,” the spokesperson said.

Three Soldiers Swim to Safety

Three soldiers managed to swim to safety, while the strong currents swept the remaining two downstream.

Search and rescue teams from the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) units from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, local police and the civil administration have deployed all available resources for the operation.

Two helicopters are also conducting aerial surveys along the barrage and downstream parallel canals, including the Western Yamuna Canal (WJC) towards Haryana and the Eastern Jamuna Canal (EJC) towards Uttar Pradesh.

Water Discharge Reduced to Aid Search

To facilitate the search operation, the Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Department reduced water discharge at the barrage and the WJC following a request from the Army.

Pratap Nagar police station SHO Inspector Rohtash confirmed that the multi-agency search operation is underway, though the two missing personnel have yet to be traced.