1 Para SF Paratrooper Ajay Bhagat Dies in Yamuna Training Drill at Hathnikund Barrage

Two paratroopers from the Indian Army’s 1 Para (Special Forces) lost their lives after being swept away in the Yamuna during a high-risk waterborne training exercise at Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana’s Yamunanagar district, with the second body recovered on the morning of 4 September after drifting nearly 200 kilometres downstream through the canal system.

The first body, identified by local reports and police sources as that of Paratrooper Ajay Bhagat, was recovered on the night of 2 September near Bartha village in Saharanpur district, Uttar Pradesh, around 14 to 15 kilometres downstream from the barrage. Bhagat was a resident of Akhnoor in Jammu. The Indian Army had not issued an official confirmation of the individual identities at the time of writing.

The second missing soldier was identified as Paratrooper Aryan Patil of Maharashtra. His body was found on Thursday morning in the Hansi Branch canal near Amreheri village in Jind. According to the report, a retired 1 Para SF officer living in Jind identified the body.

How the accident unfolded

The Chandigarh-based defence public relations officer said five personnel were carrying out the exercise in an Army boat when it developed a technical snag. The current then pushed the craft towards the downstream side of the barrage. Recovery teams tried to retrieve the boat, but it became trapped in strong eddies near the sluice gates and capsized, leaving the crew in the water. Three soldiers managed to swim to safety, while two were swept away and later found dead.

Local reports added another layer to the sequence of events. They said the soldiers had jumped from a Chinook helicopter onto a motorboat positioned in the Yamuna as part of an aerial-to-water or flood-rescue drill. When the boat failed to start and began sinking, all five entered the river wearing diving kits and life jackets. Three of them made it to the gates of the Western Yamuna Canal after swimming roughly 600 metres. Bhagat and Patil could not be located at that stage.

The exercise was reported to have been conducted with permission from the irrigation authorities. Some accounts said the team had come from the Special Forces training establishment in the Nahan area of Himachal Pradesh.

Large multi-agency search launched

A major search operation began immediately after the accident. The Indian Army, Indian Air Force, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force teams from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, local police and civil administration all joined the effort. Helicopters and drones were deployed for aerial surveillance, while water discharge at the barrage and in the Western Yamuna Canal was reduced to help divers move through the search area.

Army personnel also formed human chains inside the canal during the operation. At Dadupur Head, about 15 kilometres from the site of the accident, rescuers recovered life jackets and a diving kit.

Bhagat’s body was found first, on Wednesday night, on the Yamuna bank in Uttar Pradesh. Patil’s remains were recovered the next day after being carried much farther through the canal network.

The unit involved

1 Para (Special Forces) is one of the oldest special-forces battalions of the Parachute Regiment. Converted from 1 Punjab, it became the Army’s first dedicated special-forces unit in 1978 and has since been used for counter-insurgency, counter-terrorism and other high-risk tasks. Training involving water, boats and helicopter insertions is part of its routine preparation for flood rescue, riverine movement and special operations.

Such training is known to carry significant risks. The Hathnikund stretch of the Yamuna is particularly difficult because of sudden currents and turbulence near the barrage gates, especially when water levels and discharge are high.

Official confirmation awaited

The defence PRO confirmed the capsize and said two personnel were missing after the incident. Later recoveries were reported by local administration, police sources and residents. A full official statement naming the deceased and setting out further arrangements, including last rites, was still awaited.

The deaths of Bhagat and Patil occurred in the line of duty during a sanctioned training exercise. Both belonged to one of the Army’s most demanding formations, but the Army had not released further details on their service records, family information or funeral arrangements at the time of this report.