The incident took place in the state's northwestern frontier Machil sector, which borders Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

A police spokesman in the summer capital of Srinagar said that heavy rain and lightning had hit the Indian army picket manning the Line of Control (LoC) -- the defacto border dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

"The picket was also destroyed in the incident," he said, adding that it was situated on a mountain top.

Thousands of Indian troops have been deployed along the 742-kilometermiles) LoC to prevent Muslim rebels from crossing into Kashmir from the Pakistani zone of the divided state.

More than 38,000 people have died in Kashmir since the eruption of anti-Indian rebellion in the region in 1989.

SPACE.WIRE