FOUR KILLED, NINE INJURED AS SUV ROLLS DOWN HILL IN DODA

JAMMU: At least four people were killed and nine others were injured, when an overloaded Tata Sumo plunged into a 300-foot deep gorge in near Gangal Soti area of Doda district in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

Doda deputy commissioner (DC) Simrandeep Singh said, “The accident took place around 10:45 am. The vehicle was on its way from Seru Khal Jugassar to Gowari in remote Gandoh area.”

“The weather is not clear and the chopper cannot fly. We are treating and stabilising the injured at a health centre in Gandoh,” he said.

However, later as the weather cleared, five of the injured were shifted to district hospital in Doda.

“We received five patients from Gandoh. We have referred four of the critically injured patients to Government Medical College and Hospital in Jammu as they have suffered head, chest and abdomen injuries,” informed Dr Parvez, medical superintendent, district hospital, Doda.

The DC said, “The accident took place because of overloading. SSB, police and locals carried out the rescue operations.”

The deceased were identified as Pavitra Devi (40) of Sanwara, Mubarak Hussain (26) of Alni, Posha Devi (30) of Seru, and Sapna Devi (22) of Seru. While the injured include Ashiq Hussain (29) of Kota Khrangal, Manisha Devi (28) of Bhatoli, Sher Mohammad (38) of Soti, Om Devi (55) of Jugassar, Swarn Singh (26) of Seru Khal Jugassar, Manmohan Singh (30) of Khal Jugassar, Amar Singh (55) of Jugassar, Geeta Devi of Lajoo Khal Jugassar, and Tariq Hussain (29) of Kakoo.

It is pertinent to mention here that the dilapidated roads in the Doda region, comprising Kishtwar and Bhaderwah, coupled with official apathy and overloading, besides reckless driving have made the region a death trap for commuters. Former governor NN Vohra had repeatedly asked successive regimes to check frequent road accidents in the state, especially Doda region.

This is the fourth major accident in the region in the last one month.