Jammu. 22 passengers were killed and 57 injured when a bus carrying pilgrims skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Jammu district on Thursday, officials said. Officials said the accident took place at Tungi Morh in the Chowki Chora area of the district. They said the bus fell into a gorge about 150 feet deep.
The District Magistrate of Jammu said on the social media platform ‘X’ that a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident. He also said that 22 people have died and 57 people have been injured in this incident. Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the death of people in this incident.
Along with this, the LG said in a post on the social media platform ‘X’ that in the bus accident in Akhnoor, Jammu, the next of kin of each deceased will be given Rs 5 lakh each and the injured will be given Rs 50,000 each as ex-gratia. A police spokesperson said that the incident took place at 12:35 pm. He said that the bus with registration number UP81CT-4058 fell into the ditch.
The bus was carrying pilgrims from Kurukshetra in Haryana to Shivkhodi in Pouni area of Reasi district in Jammu and Kashmir. The bus had started its journey from Uttar Pradesh. Police spokesperson said that the bodies have been sent to the sub-district hospital in Akhnoor. He said that the injured have been admitted to the Government Medical College-cum-Hospital (GMC) in Jammu. Officials said that one of the deceased women has been identified as Dharampati (42), wife of Radheshyam, a resident of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. He said that most of the victims are from Uttar Pradesh.
The army, police and locals pulled out the bodies and the injured from the ditch with the help of ropes. Officials said that the army used a crane to pull the bus out of the ditch and the operation is still going on. Officials said that the condition of six of the injured is critical and they were first taken to Akhnoor hospital, from where they were taken to GMC hospital in Jammu by ambulance.
Hospital Principal Dr. Ashutosh Gupta said, “More than 36 injured passengers have been brought to GMC Hospital. Six of them are in critical condition. The patients are being treated.” Amar Chand, one of the injured undergoing treatment at the hospital, said, “A car was coming from the opposite direction. The driver was taking the bus out of a sharp turn, but he failed, due to which the vehicle fell into the ditch.” The people injured in the incident said that they had come for pilgrimage to Shivkhodi. Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Faisal Qureshi, Transport Commissioner and other officials reached the spot and inspected the rescue operation. SSP and Deputy Commissioner of Jammu reached GMC Hospital to know the condition of the injured. The Lieutenant Governor has expressed grief over the death of people in this tragic accident.
Sinha said in his message, “The bus accident in Akhnoor is heart-wrenching. I express condolences on the deaths in this accident and pray to God to give strength to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss. I wish for the speedy recovery of the injured.” He also wrote, “The administration is providing all possible help to the bereaved families and is also providing medical facilities to the injured.” This is the biggest accident in the region after a similar incident in Doda on November 15 last year in which a bus full of passengers slipped off the road and fell into a 300 feet deep gorge in the Trungal-Assar area, killing 39 people and injuring 19.