- Monday, February 24, 2025
The injured passengers of the ill-fated vehicle, which was coming from the state of Uttar Pradesh, said the accident took place when the driver was negotiating a blind curve and a car was coming from the opposite direction.
By: Shubham Ghosh
AT LEAST 22 people were killed and more than 50 injured after a bus carrying pilgrims skidded off the road and rolled down into a gorge in Jammu district of the northern Indian Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday (30), officials said. The accident took place at the Tungi-Morh in the Chowki Chora belt near the district’s Akhnoor area, the officials added.
They said the ill-fated bus rolled around 150 feet down into the gorge.
A magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident, the Jammu district magistrate informed on X.
He also said 22 people have lost their lives and 57 sustained injuries in the tragedy. According to some other reports, the number of injured was 70.
Manoj Sinha, lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir, has expressed anguish at the loss of lives and announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.
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In a condolence message, he said, “The bus accident in Akhnoor is heart-rending. I condole the loss of lives and pray to the almighty to give the bereaved families the strength to bear the irreparable loss. Praying for a speedy recovery of the injured. The administration is providing all possible assistance to the bereaved families and is also extending medical facilities to those who have been injured.
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Indian president Droupadi Murmu also condoled the deaths, saying in a post on X, “Pained beyond words to learn about the loss of lives in a bus accident in Akhnoor near Jammu. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery of the injured.”
Pained beyond words to learn about the loss of lives in a bus accident in Akhnoor near Jammu. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery of the injured.
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) May 30, 2024
A police spokesperson said at about 12:35 pm local time, the bus bearing registration number UP81CT-4058 fell into the gorge. UP stands for Uttar Pradesh, the northern and most populous state of India.
The vehicle was carrying devotees from Kurukshetra in another northern state of Haryana and was headed towards Shiv Khori in the Pouni area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district.
The bodies were shifted to the Akhnoor sub-district hospital, the police spokesperson said, adding that the injured have been taken to the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital in Jammu.
Police said most of the victims were from Uttar Pradesh.
Personnel of the Indian Army and local police, along with local people, used ropes and made human chains to carry the bodies and the injured people uphill.
The army also used cranes to pull the bus out of the gorge, the officials said.
The injured, including six in a critical condition, were initially taken to the Akhnoor hospital for treatment. Subsequently, they were shifted to the GMC hospital in Jammu in ambulances, the officials said.
“More than 36 passengers have been brought to the GMC hospital. Six of them are in a critical condition. Timely treatment is being given to the patients,” principal of the hospital, Dr Ashutosh Gupta, said.
The injured passengers said the accident took place when the driver was negotiating a blind curve and a speeding car was coming from the opposite direction.
“A car was coming from the opposite direction. The driver tried to negotiate a blind curve but failed, resulting in the vehicle rolling down the gorge,” Amar Chand, one of the injured people undergoing treatment at the hospital, said.
Those who sustained injuries in the incident said they had come for a pilgrimage to Shiv Khori.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP), traffic, Faisal Qureshi, the transport commissioner, along with other officials, visited the spot and supervised the operation.
The SSP said it seems there was no overloading of passengers in the bus.
Divisional commissioner Ramesh Kumar, SSP-Jammu and the deputy commissioner of Jammu visited the GMC hospital to inquire about the injured.
The LG has expressed anguish at the loss of lives in the accident.
Thursday’s incident is the biggest in the region since a similar incident was reported from Doda on November 15, 2023, in which 39 people were killed and 19 injured when a bus carrying passengers skidded off the road and rolled down into a 300-foot gorge in the Trungal-Assar area of the district.
(With PTI inputs)
