Kanpur/Lucknow: A 22-year-old Agniveer, whose family has a long tradition of military service, is among five Army personnel missing after flash floods hit an Army camp in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dibang Valley district on Friday.Agniveer Vinod Yadav, a resident of Sarai Amilia village under the Ajitmal police station limits of Auraiya, has been missing since the incident near Pashupani along the LAC. Seven Army personnel were caught in the flooding. Two were rescued, while five remain untraced as search and rescue operations continue.Vinod’s uncle, Dharmendra, said the family received information about him being missing on Aug 15. “Seven or eight members of our family have served in the Army. Vinod was also motivated by the family’s tradition of serving in the forces,” Dharmendra said.Vinod’s father, Mahendra, is a farmer. Vinod is the elder of his two sons. According to Dharmendra, Vinod joined the Army as an Agniveer in Feb 2023.The family said Vinod studied up to Class XII at R S Memorial Public School, Ajitmal, completed BA from Janata Mahavidyalaya, Ajitmal, and obtained an NCC certificate. He was recruited in the first batch of Agniveers from Kanpur Army Cantt, trained in Jabalpur, and was later posted to the 5th Grenadiers battalion in Dibang, Arunachal.“Marriage proposals had started coming for him, but we had decided to wait. We did not know that such a tragedy would happen to our family,” Dharmendra said.Recalling the information received by the family about the incident, Dharmendra said Vinod was among a group of seven personnel affected by the flooding. Two were subsequently found, while five, including Vinod, remained missing.Army teams have launched an extensive search in and around the flood-affected area.“Heavy rain, swollen water channels and the difficult mountainous terrain are hampering the operation,” an official source said.Back in Sarai Amilia, Vinod’s family and villagers are anxiously awaiting information from the rescue teams and hoping for his safe return. Villagers and relatives have been making their way to Vinod’s home, anxiously seeking updates about his well-being.Vinod’s mother, Sunita, broke down inconsolably, repeatedly pleading, “Someone save my son.” The family took her to hospital on Saturday after her health deteriorated. Relatives said she kept calling out Vinod’s name whenever she regained consciousness.Vinod’s younger brother Abhishek said he had left for duty in April 2026 and was due to return on August 18 after taking leave. “We had spoken a day earlier and he had told us that he was coming home. Then, around 4:30 pm on Aug 15, his phone suddenly became unreachable. We did not know what had happened. Later, we received a call from the headquarters informing us about the incident,” he said.
