Jammu, July 13
At least 24 passengers were killed and 22 others were injured when a bus plunged into the Chenab river near Prem Nagar in the Doda district this morning.

As many as 15 men, seven women and two children were among those killed. The police feared that the number of casualties could be higher because some people were suspected to have been washed away in the strong current of the river.

Efforts were being made by Army personnel to take out the ill-fated bus from the river about 200 ft. below the road. The injured persons said some passengers might be trapped in the wreckage of the bus.

Eight of the seriously injured have been shifted to the medical college here for treatment. The condition of three of them was stated to be critical. Seven women were among the injured.

Two of the injured succumbed to their injuries while they were being brought here.

Initial reports indicate that the bus which was on its way to Kishtwar from Doda was overloaded and most of the passengers belonged to the villages en route. It collided head-on with a matador and plunged into the river.