M A I N   N E W S

38 die as bus falls into Chenab
Tribune News Service

Jammu, November 30
At least 38 persons, including women, were killed when a passenger bus in which they were travelling fell into the Chenab today. As many as 20 passengers were injured.

The police said the bus, carrying 57 passengers, was overloaded and was on its way to Marmath from Doda when due to some mechanical fault it skidded off the road and rolled into the river at Naple, half-a-km from Pul Doda.

The police has confirmed the death of 35 passengers. Security personnel along with civilians were seen rescuing the passengers.

According to an eyewitness account, more than 30 passengers were killed on the spot and later five succumbed to their injuries while being shifted to the hospital.

The wounded were carried in trucks and vans of the police. Senior police officers from Doda and Batote reached the spot for supervising the rescue operations. Around 21 bodies have been shifted to the Doda district hospital. Three women and two children are among those killed in the mishap.

The government had decided to send a helicopter to carry three seriously injured passengers to the Jammu Medical College but before the chopper could get the green signal the three died while being evacuated from the bus.

Those killed include Yaseen, Sanjay Kumar, Abdul Wahid, Ravi Kumar, Om Raj, Ali Mohammad, VDC member, Shafqat, Prithvi Raj, Gani Rather, Mohammad Shafi, Abdul Gani, his wife Mariam, Lal Chand, P. Lal, Parveen Ahmed, Tulsi Ram, Sarjo Devi, Master Rehmat and Ghulam Nabi.

The police said more than 20 persons were travelling on the roof.