13 dead, 15 injured as bus falls into gorge in Jammu’s Poonch

JAMMU: Thirteen people died and 15 others were injured in the early hours of Saturday when a passenger bus they were travelling in veered off the road and plunged into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district, police said.

According to the police, the driver of the bus, going from Loran to Poonch, lost control over the vehicle and it fell into a gorge at Plera, nearly 30 km away from Poonch.

“The road was under repair and there was a curve at the place of occurrence. Apparently, driver couldn’t control the wheels and the bus plunged into a gorge,” an official with the traffic police said.

Of the 30 passengers on board, six died on the spot and seven died on the way to the hospital, he added.

Soon after the incident, the district administration arranged an air ambulance for those in critical condition, he added.

The injured have been shifted to a sub-district hospital in Mandi and some have been airlifted to Jammu for specialised medical attention.

District development commissioner of Poonch, Rahul Yadav, said, “The driver is also among the dead... Conductor is seriously injured. It (the passenger bus) was not overloaded. It was 42-seater bus and had nearly 30 people. The exact cause of the mishap will be known after investigations.”

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik expressed grief over the incident. As per a PTI report, the governor said his prayers were with the departed souls and their bereaved families.

Malik has also wished the injured a speedy recovery, the report stated.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) demanded an investigation into the frequent accidents in the mountainous belts.

A special team of officials should be constituted to check the condition of old vehicles on roads, especially in hilly and far-flung areas, PTI quoted the JKPCC as saying in a statement. It also demanded adequate compensation to the next of kin of the deceased and the injured, the report stated.

19 INJURED IN SAMBA

Meanwhile, a bus rolled down into gorge at Chilla Danga in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, injuring 19 passengers, six of them critically, said police. The critically injured have been referred to the GMC hospital Jammu, an official added.

POLICE SAID THE DRIVER OF THE BUS, WHICH HAD 30 PEOPLE ON BOARD, WAS GOING FROM LORAN TO POONCH WHEN HE LOST CONTROL OVER THE VEHICLE AND IT FELL INTO THE GORGE