Srinagar, Dec 16 : A soldier was killed in an explosion in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, officials said on Tuesday.

Officials said that the soldier died on Monday in an explosion in Putaha Khan Gali of the Trehgam area of the district of the Line of Control (LoC).

The soldier has been identified as Havaldar Zubair Ahmad of J&K Light Infantry (JAKLI).

â??The injured soldier was rushed to a military hospital in the Drugmulla area of Baramulla district, but doctors said he was dead on arrival,â?? officials said.

More details were awaited.

The officials said that the explosion occurred during road construction in the area, and the soldier was accidentally critically injured in this blast.

The soldiers sometimes step on preplanted landmines during patrolling near the LoC. In most such accidents, due to rain, snow and other weather conditions, these mines have been swept away from the area where they were planted. Such landmines are technically called â??drift minesâ??.

As part of the robust anti-infiltration mechanism, area close to the border/LoC fencing is often mined to prevent incursion into this side of the line.

Jammu and Kashmir has a 740 km long LoC situated in Baramulla, Kupwara and Bandipora districts of the Valley, and Poonch, Rajouri and partly in Jammu district of Jammu division.

The Army guards the LoC in J&K, while the 240-km-long international border situated in Jammu, Samba and Kathua districts is guarded by the Border Security Force (BSF).

The Army and the BSF guard against infiltration, exfiltration, cross-border smuggling and drone activities initiated from across the border.

The J&K Police and the security forces carry out anti-terrorist operations in the hinterland against terrorists, their overground workers (OGWs), sympathisers and drug smugglers.

Guarding the LoC is a Herculean task, especially during the winter months when heavy snowfall and avalanches hit the Army posts on the LoC, resulting in casualties. The temperature during both day and night remains below zero at the LoC, and logistics and supplies become a big challenge for the Army in the winter months

/IANS