A small drone being used by the Indian army for surveillance purposes “accidentally” crossed over into Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), the Indian officials claimed in a report by the Press Trust of India.

The drone, which was on a test training mission in the Bhimber Gali area, lost connection with its operator due to a technical issue and drifted across the LoC into the other side, according to them.

The incident occurred around at 9:25am on August 23 when the mini-drone was on a training exercise “well within Indian territory”, as an army official told The Hindu newspaper.

“It lost control due to a technical malfunction and drifted into the Nikial Sector opposite our Bhimber Gali Sector,” the official said. He was talking about AJK.

Indian media reports alleged that the Pakistani Army has recovered the wayward drone. The Indian army has sent a hotline message to the Pakistan Army, requesting the return of the UAV, it added.

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In March 2022, an accidental firing of a missile from the Indian side into Pakistan also led to strong protests from Islamabad, raising concerns about the safety protocols in place for military operations along the LoC between the two nuclear-armed nations. India had attributed that incident to a technical failure during routine maintenance.

(The earlier version of the story had a mistake in the name of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The error is regretted.)