NEW DELHI – Indian paramilitary four ITBP personnel were crushed to deathwhile eight injured when a huge boulder, loosened by monsoon rains, rolleddown a mountain and hit their vehicle on the Basar-Akajan road in LowerSiang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Friday, police said.

The incident occurred at around 2.30 pm about 5 km from Likabali, thedistrict headquarters of Lower Siang, when they were on way to it fromBasar in West Siang district, police said.

The boulder rolled down the mountain slope and smashed the mini buscarrying 20 ITBP personnel. Four ITBP personnel died on the spot. So far,three bodies have been retrieved by a joint rescue team of the ITBP and thestate police, who are being assisted by locals, Lower Siang superintendentof police Singjatla Singpho said.

This is the second landslide-related incident in the state within fivedays. The toll due to landslips this monsoon has risen to nine.

He said the vehicle had to slow down as the condition of the road is verybad and was hit by the boulder.

The SP said eight other personnel were injured, including two seriously.The seriously injured have been shifted to the Army hospital at Likabali,while the personnel with minor wounds were treated at the local communityhealth centre.

“A rescue operation is difficult in the area due to stones rolling downfrom the mountain,” Singpho said, adding the identity of the dead ITBPpersonnel was yet to be confirmed.

On June 24, five labourers were buried alive when a retaining wall of anunder-construction RCC building collapsed on a labour barrack at DonyiColony here.