Jammu, January 20
Atleast 54 persons were killed and 15 injured when a private bus in which they were travelling rolled down a deep gorge in the border district of Rajouri today. The condition of five of the injured was stated to be critical.
The overloaded bus was on its way to the district town of Rajouri from Darhal when it rolled down 400 ft into a gorge near the shrine of Baba Sain Ganji. Among the killed were 31 men, 18 women and five children.
Preliminary information indicated that the driver of the bus failed to negotiate a sharp turn, leading to the accident. The bus, with registration number JKU 2755, was stated to be operational for the past 18 years.
The police said that 46 persons died on the spot, while eight succumbed to their injuries in hospital. The critically injured persons were admitted to the district hospital for treatment. Many bodies were extricated from the wreckage of the bus that lay littered in the gorge. The Army, IRP and police personnel rushed to the spot, about 8 km from Rajouri, to undertake relief and rescue operations. It took about four hours to extricate the injured and the dead.
Reports said most of the bodies were
mutilated. SSP Rajouri J.P. Singh said over telephone that the accident occurred due to an error of the driver. A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the mishap.
While the SSP and the Deputy Commissioner, along with a team of doctors, rushed to the accident spot immediately after the report came in, Divisional Commissioner
B.R. Sharma and the IGPs of the Jammu range and traffic flew from here. Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Transport Minister Mangat Ram Sharma have expressed shock over the mishap and conveyed their sympathies to the bereaved families.
