At least 36 people were killed and several injured on Wednesday when a bus carrying passengers skidded off the road and rolled down into a 300-foot gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district. The accident took place near Trungal-Assar on the Batote-Kishtwar national highway. The bus bearing registration number JK02CN-6555 was reportedly carrying around 40 passengers.
Quoting Doda Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh who has been on the spot, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh wrote on X, “Saddened to share the update from DC #Doda Harvinder Singh from the spot of the accident. Unfortunately 36 persons have died and 19 injured, out of whom 6 injured are serious”.
“The injured are being shifted to GMC Doda and GMC #Jammu as per requirement. All possible help being provided. Sincere condolences to the bereaved families,” he said.
Rescue operation has been launched and some bodies have been retrieved. Police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, besides locals, are involved in the rescue operation, reported PTI.
Some of the injured passengers have been shifted to a hospital and some will likely be airlifted to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital in Jammu, according to officials.
PM Modi announces ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed grief over the incident.
“The bus accident in Doda, Jammu and Kashmir is distressing. My condolences to the families who have lost their near and dear ones. I pray that the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi said on X.
He announced that an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each would be given to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each would be given to the injured from the from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
“Deeply anguished to learn about the loss of precious lives due to a tragic bus accident at Doda, Jammu and Kashmir. The local administration is conducting the rescue operation in the gorge where the bus had the accident. My heartfelt condolences to the families of the deceased and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Shah said on X.
Jammu and Kashmir Lt Governor Manoj Sinha expressed shock over the accident. “Extremely pained by the loss of lives in a tragic bus accident in Assar, he wrote on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), adding “My heartfelt condolences to bereaved families & wishing for a speedy recovery of those injured in the accident”.
