Army officer dies while saving dog from fire in Jammu and Kashmir's Gulmarg

An officer of the Indian Army lost his life while trying to save a pet dog after a fire engulfed his residence in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir. Major Ankit Budhraja, 33, of Signal corps who was posted with the SSTC Gulmarg died of severe burns and suffocation. The officer sustained 90 per cent burn on his body and succumbed on spot. Budhraja stayed in the hut provided by the Amry with his wife and two dogs.

As per a report in The Indian Express, the officer rescued his wife and one of his dogs but as he jumped into the fire again to save his second dog he got severe burns. A police officer added, "Around 2.45 am, we received a call that there is a fire. The officer had gone inside to rescue his dog. He couldn't survive and died of severe burns and suffocation. The dog too died. The officer and the dog were found in the same room."

People who knew the officer praised the officer for his professionalism. One of the people said that the officer was an exceptional young officer who handled Budgam as Rashtriya Rifle company commander during the period of sectarian tension with the maturity of an officer 5 times his service.

The officer belonged to from Jhansi in Madhya Pradesh and had packed his bags to leave for Srinagar after he got a new posting. The police is further investigating the cause of the fire and a forensic team has collected the samples from the site