In a tragic incident, at least 11 people have died while several others have been injured after a minibus they were travelling in fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir\u2019s Poonch district on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe death toll is likely to go up in view of the critical injuries to 9 passengers,\u201d said a police officer.\u00a0 The mishap occurred around 8.30 am. Poonch is around 250 km from Jammu.\u00a0 The officer said the minibus, a Canter was on its way to Poonch from Gali Maidan when it veered off the road and fell into a 100 feet-deep gorge by the Barari Nullah (rivulet) in the Sawjiyan area close to the Line of Control (LoC).<\/p>\n
The mini-bus was overloaded beyond its capacity with 38 passengers in it, mostly students of a government school and other daily commuters, he added.<\/p>\n
Soon after the accident, locals, policemen, and army personnel from a nearby unit ran to the spot and undertook a rescue operation. They evacuated the injured and deceased to the district hospital Poonch.<\/p>\n
Among those killed included two boys aged 5 and 14 years, two teenage girls, and a woman according to official sources.<\/p>\n
Mandi Tehsildar Shehzad Latif said Army\u2019s rescue operation is on and many injured have been shifted to a hospital in Mandi.<\/p>\n
Early visuals from the accident spot that surfaced on social media showed locals gathered in large numbers around the bus involved in the incident lying damaged after falling into the gorge.<\/p>\n
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced their condolences to the bereaved families and wished a speedy recovery to those injured in the incident. PM Modi also announced a Rs 2 lakh aid from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs. 50,000 to the injured.<\/p>\n
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for family members of the deceased and also directed authorities to provide the best treatment to those injured.<\/p>\n
In a tweet, L-G Sinha expressed his condolences to the bereaved families. \u201cSaddened by the loss of lives due to a road accident in Sawjian, Poonch. Condolences to bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Rs. 5 lakh would be given to the next of kin of the deceased. Directed Police and Civil authorities to provide best possible treatment to the injured,\u201d L-G Manoj Sinha said in the tweet.<\/p>\n
In her tweet expressing grief over the incident, President Droupadi Murmu said, \u201cThe loss of lives in a tragic road accident in Sawjian, Poonch is deeply distressing\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. I wish speedy recovery of the injured,\u201d the President added.<\/p>\n