Twenty two dead in India-Pakistan border explosion

The death toll of an accidental landmine explosion on the Indian side of the India-Pakistan border now stands at 22

The death toll of an accidental landmine explosion on the Indian side of the India-Pakistan border now stands at 22. Five more of the victims in hospital died of their injuries, police say.

The four soldiers and one civilian died in a military hospital in the border town of Amritsar. The number of soldiers killed in the explosion now stands at 18.

With heightened tensions between India and Pakistan in the last two weeks, Indian army soldiers have been laying land mines along the border.

Eyewitnesses say some soldiers were unloading a truck filled with land mines on yesterday while others were fixing fuses on the mines at the village of Mahwa.

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"The soldiers were busy working on the devices when suddenly we saw the truck rolling back. In a second, there was a massive explosion. We just ran to save our lives," said farmer Mr Ranjit Singh.

"The bodies of the dead were flung at least 20-25 feet away."

Other eyewitnesses said the truck driver had reversed the truck to let a tractor pass on the narrow road, when it ran over a land mine.

The initial blast killed 14 soldiers and three civilians who were in the tractor, police say. At least 15 people, mostly soldiers, are in hospital - five in serious condition, according by doctors.

PA