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3 govt officials, driver dead as vehicle plunges into gorge in J&K’s Doda
A preliminary investigation suggests that the accident occurred due to low visibility because of the foggy conditions and heavy rain, says police
Three government officials and their driver were killed after their Bolero car skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge by the Chenab river in Doda district amidst rains on Monday morning, officials said.
The dead were from the public works department (R&B).
They have been identified as executive engineer Mohammad Rafiq of Poonch, assistant executive engineer Kamal Kishore Sharma of Udhampur and their driver Mohammad Hafiz of Doda.
The critically injured superintending engineer Suresh Kumar, who was evacuated to the government medical college in Doda and later to GMC-Jammu also died during treatment.
“Critically injured superintending engineer Suresh Kumar, who was evacuated to GMC-Jammu, succumbed to his injuries during treatment at the ICU, said Dr Narinder Bhatial, medical superintendent of the GMC and hospital Jammu.
Doda SSP Abdul Qayoom said, “Prima facie their car skidded off the road and plunged into the deep gorge. The accident happened in the Trungal of Assar area. The badly mangled car rolled down around 200 feet into the gorge. It was raining in the area, and the weather was foggy.”
A police officer at Doda’s police control room said that around 10:40 am, the Bolero car (JK02CC/ 0701), on its way from Batote to Doda, plunged into a deep gorge killing three occupants on the spot besides injuring another.
He said a preliminary investigation suggested that the accident occurred due to low visibility because of the foggy conditions and heavy rain.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the accident and directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance to the injured. “Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident in Doda. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. Directed the district administration to provide all possible assistance,” Sinha wrote on Twitter.
“The postmortem of the deceased is underway and the bodies will be handed over to their families for last rites after completion of the necessary formalities,” Block Medical Officer (BMO), Assar, Dr Tanveer Ahmad, said.
With inputs from Agencies
