Four die in J&K road mishap

At least four people died and nine others were injured, two of them critically, on Saturday when a vehicle carrying them skidded off the road and plunged into a 300-feet deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district.

“About 10.45 am on Saturday, an overloaded Tata Sumo plunged into a deep gorge. The vehicle was on its way from Seru Khal Jugassar to Gowari, in remote Gandoh area,” deputy commissioner of police, Doda, Simrandeep Singh, told Hindustan Times over the phone.

“At least four people have died and nine others are injured, two of them critically. The weather is packed and chopper cannot fly. Therefore, we are treating and stabilising the injured at a health centre in Gandoh,” he added.

The patients will subsequently be shifted to Doda district hospital. The two critically injured passengers will be airlifted to government medical college and hospital in Jammu once the weather improved, said Singh.

“Locals, police and Sashastra Seema Bal are carrying out rescue operations in the area,” he said.

The deceased have been identified as Pavitra Devi (40) of Sanwara, Mubarak Hussain (26) of Alni and Posha Devi (30) and Sapna Devi of Seru.

Those injured are Ashiq Hussain (29), Manisha Devi (28), Sher Mohammad (38), Om Devi (55), Swarn Singh (26), Manmohan Singh (30), Amar Singh (55), Geeta Devi and Tariq Hussain (29), said police.

This is the fourth major accident in the Doda region over the last one month. The region, which comprises Kishtwar and Bhaderwah, has often faced repeated complaints regarding dilapidated roads.

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