Kishtwar, India, Monday, July 1, 2019 —
At least 35 people died and several others were injured on Monday morning after a vehicle, they were travelling in, fell into a deep gorge in Keshwan area of Kishtwar in Jammu province of J&K.
Locals, who witnessed the deadly road mishap, said that the ill-fated minibus was overloaded and fell down into a deep gorge. The minibus bearing registration number JK17- 6787 was on its way from Keshwan to Kishtwar.
A J&K Police spokesman said that the vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge near Sirgawari Keshwan village in Kishtwar district today morning. “A team of officers of Kishtwar Police rushed to the spot and rescued the injured and shifted them to District hospital Kishtwar,” the spokesman said.
“There are chances that the number of dead or injured people may increase once the rescue operation gets completed,” Deputy Commissioner Kishtwar Angrez Singh Raina said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday expressed condolences to the families of those who died in the accident while calling the accident as ‘heart-wrenching’.
“The accident in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar is heart-wrenching. We mourn all those who lost their lives and express condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest,” PM Modi tweeted.
Praying for the speedy recovery to the injured, Union Home Minister Amit Shah
also tweeted and wrote, “Extremely saddened to learn about the loss of lives due to a road accident in Kishtwar, Jammu & Kashmir. My deepest condolences to the families of those who lost their loved ones. I pray of the speedy recovery of those injured.”
Governor Satya Pal Malik has also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the
tragic minibus accident.
Governor has announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and directed the administration to provide best medical treatment to the injured in the accident and wished a speedy recovery to them. It is pertinent to mention here that a few months ago, Governor had directed officers of the Transport Department to take away unfit vehicles and untrained drivers off the road.
“Governor observed that most of the accidents take place due to careless and untrained drivers who drive without any regard for rules and regulations and become the reason for losing so many precious lives,” a spokesman from Raj Bhawan said.
“All the reasons for such incidents will be probed thoroughly and strong decisions will be taken in the next SAC meeting to ensure strict action against those responsible for such avoidable incidents,” the spokesman quoted Governor Malik as having said.
Source: Digpu
