Assar (Ramban), September 7
At least 27 passengers were killed and 22 injured when the bus in which they were travelling skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge at Assar on the Batote-Kishtwar National Highway around 1.10 pm today. The ill-fated bus, which left Doda bus stand around 11.45 am, was on its way to Jammu when the accident took place.
Mubassar Latifee, SP, Ramban, told The Tribune that 21 passengers were killed on the spot, while four others succumbed to their injuries on their way to Batote from Assar hospital. Two passengers later died at the Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu, after being airlifted from Batote.
Eyewitnesses told The Tribune that the driver of the bus, bearing registration number 6339-JK02D, lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a sharp curve on the alternative track that was developed after a 200 metres portion of the highway had caved in on February 6 this year due to heavy landsliding and soil erosion.
Shashipal Goswami, who runs a dhaba at Assar, said as it was a narrow stretch, the driver somehow managed to negotiate the first turn but failed to cross the second zigzag. “As the curve is steep and narrow, the driver
decided to reverse the vehicle to negotiate the curve. However, while taking the bus back, he lost control and the vehicle rolled down into the old track, which had converted into a gorge,” Goswami said.
As soon as the vehicle fell into the gorge, locals swung into action and started rescue operations much before the police reached there. All injured were lifted out of the badly mangled bus. Some passengers were badly trapped in the wreckage of the bus and the locals found it difficult to evacuate them.
Twenty-one passengers were killed on the spot while 22 injured were shifted to Assar Hospital, which is located about 2 km from the incident site. Three passengers with minor injuries were discharged after first aid.
As the Assar hospital lacks adequate infrastructure to treat patients, the injured were later shifted to the Batote Hospital. Four passengers succumbed to their injuries on their way to Batote from Assar. Though doctors and paramedical staff were called at the Batote Hospital, but due to the non-availability of adequate infrastructure, doctors found it difficult to provide adequate treatment to the injured. A large number of youths thronged the Batote Hospital to donate blood to the injured. Later 21 passengers were air-lifted to Jammu from Batote.
Meanwhile, Khalid Najib Suharwardy, a former Home Minister and MLC, has expressed grief over the bus accident. He demanded adequate compensation for the families of the victims. He also asked the authorities to provide treatment free of cost to the injured.
