10 killed, 16 hurt as tempo skids off road in J&K’s Reasi
JAMMU : Ten people were killed and 16 injured when their minibus skidded off the road at Janslan village in Reasi district, 150 km from here, on Wednesday.
Re a si senior superintendent of police Tahir Sajjad Bhat said the driver lost control over the Tempo Traveller going from Budhanto Mahore and it skidded off the road near Chachi Nullah at 8.45am.
“The vehicle was carrying 25 passengers, all residents of Mahore subdivision. Eight of them died on the spot,” the SSP said. On the cause of the accident, the SSP said, “Roads in the area are narrow and laxity for a second can prove fatal. Investigation is on.”
Two passengers succumbed to their injuries while being shifted to hospital.
The deceased were identified as Javid Ahmed (26) and Wazira Begum (35), both residents of Chachi Jamaslan, Charan Singh(22), Liyaqat Ali (20) and Mohammed Arshad (19) all residents of Budhan, Mohammed Asif (15), Hamit Ali(12), both residents of Jamaslan Nagar. Bahar Din (27) and his son Mubashir Ahmed (5) of Sildhar were also killed in the accident.
Six of the injured were referred to Government Medical College Hospital, Jam mu, while nine others were admitted to the government hospital in Reasi. The driver, identified as Mohinder Singh, lost his three-month-old son, while his wife Neelma Devi and son Ayush Rajput were among the injured.
The vehicle belonged to a private operator and many passengers were students who were either going to school or college at Mahore.
Local residents helped police in retrieving the bodies and evacuating the injured. They alleged that General Reserved Engineering Force (GREF), which has been entrusted to repair and maintain that road stretch, despite repeated reminders has not carried out repair. They also questioned the quality of the previous repair carried by the G REF.
Mahore sub-divisional police officer Mujeeb-Ur-Rehman said, “Roads in the area are narrow and for the past one month, the area experienced rainfall on daily basis. Excessive rainfall has left the roads in the area in a dilapidated condition. The driver while trying to avoid a pothole lost control over the vehicle, which turned turtle, and it fell close to Chachi nullah.”
“The high number of casualties was due to overloading. The vehicle was carrying more passengers than its capacity. We have registered the case and launched manhunt to nab the absconding driver,” he added.
CM CONDOLES ACCIDENT
Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday expressed shock and grief over the loss of lives in a tragic road accident at Mahore. She asked the Jammu division al administration and the district administration to intensify the rescue operations at the spot and ensure best possible treatment to the other injured.