At least four members of the armed forces drowned and two are missing after they were swept away by river waters last Sunday as they tried to escape from anti-government protesters who were throwing stones at them in the Puno region (south), Peru’s Defense Ministry announced Monday.

“Today, we fly our flag at half-mast, as a sign of mourning and respect for the memory of the brave” soldiers, after the discovery of four bodies in the frozen waters of the Yave River, which originates in Lake Titicaca, on the border with Bolivia, the ministry said on Twitter. Defense, clarifying that the investigations to locate the two missing persons are continuing.

According to the military, the soldiers were trying to avoid protesters who were demanding the resignation of President Dina Bolluarte.

“We crossed the river (…) because we had no other way to escape. From 800 to 900 people surrounded us and started throwing stones at us (…) They called us corrupt and murderers,” said a soldier, covered with a blanket, in a video distributed by the ministry.

In his account, the soldiers tried to make a human chain, but “we were swept away by the current and some began to drown.”

The day before Sunday, health authorities in Puno announced that they had treated five soldiers who had suffered hypothermia and were rescued by villagers.

The army patrol was heading to the town of Huli, where 16 people, ten civilians and six soldiers, were injured in incidents on Saturday.

Peru remains mired in a serious political and social crisis that erupted on December 7, with the suspension, arrest and pretrial detention of left-wing former president Pedro Castillo, who was replaced by his then-vice president, Dina Bolluarte.

Mr. Castillo, 53, is accused of attempting a coup when he tried to dissolve parliament, which was preparing to suspend him. He remains in a detention center in Lima after being sentenced to 18 months in pretrial detention.

His fall after seventeen months in power sparked protests and violent incidents that left at least 52 dead, including four soldiers, and more than 1,300 injured, half of them in uniform, according to the People’s Advocate.

The protesters are demanding that Ms Bolluarte resign, that Congress be dissolved and that early parliamentary and presidential elections be held in 2023.