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10 Vaishno Devi pilgrims dead, 66 injured in Jammu bus accident
The death toll in the accident may go up as two of the injured admitted at GMCH, Jammu are said to be in critical condition, said the principal of the hospital Dr Shashi Sudhan Sharma
Ten pilgrims on the way to Vaishno Devi temple were killed and 66 others sustained injuries on Tuesday morning after their bus skidded off the road and rammed into the railing of a bridge before falling off it at Jhajjar Kotli – 35km from Jammu city, said officials.
As per Jammu senior superintendent of police (SSP) Chandan Kohli, the bus was overcrowded as 75 pilgrims – most of them from Bihar – were travelling in a 54-seater bus.
“All the pilgrims on board the bus were asleep when the incident took place around 5.30am. The driver was also killed in the accident. We have registered a case in the accident under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Jhajjar Kotli police station,” said Jhajjar Kotli station house officer, inspector Ajat Manhas.
The death toll in the accident may go up as two of the injured admitted at Government Medical College Hospital, Jammu are said to be in critical condition, said the principal of the hospital Dr Shashi Sudhan Sharma.
“The bus was on its way to Katra from Amritsar when it met with an accident at Jhajjar Kotli area on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway... Most of the pilgrims were on way to attend the mundan (a baby’s first head shaving) ceremony of one of the pilgrim’s son,” said Kohli. Katra is a base camp for the pilgrims visiting Vaisho Devi temple atop the Trikuta hills.
For the journey to Katra, the vehicle should have taken a left turn nearly two kilometers before the spot of the accident, said passengers. “Why the bus was in Jhajjar Kotli, if they were on way to Katra remains a subject of investigation. Whether over speeding or a mechanical fault caused the accident also needs to be investigated,” said the SSP.
A local youth Vivek, who was on way to Narayana hospital, said that he saw the bus going down around 5,30am. “I was on the way to the hospital when I saw this bus being driven at a high speed on a curve. It appears that either the driver lost control, or the brakes of the vehicle failed. I along with few other locals immediately went down to the site of the accident. After some time, police and CRPF officials also reached the spot and started rescue operations,” he said.
“The troops of 137 CRPF battalion carried out the rescue operation to evacuate injured driver and passengers from the bus, which turned turtle and fell down from Jhajjar Kotli bridge on highway,” the force said in a tweet.
One of the pilgrims travelling in the bus said he felt a strong jolt before the bus fell off the bridge into the gorge. “We were coming from Amritsar to Katra for the darshan of Mata Vaishno Devi. I had to perform mundan ceremony of my son,” he said.
Another pilgrim, a teenager, said: “I was sleeping when the bus suddenly fell. There was chaos all around and no one had any idea what had actually unfolded. The bus was moving at a normal speed before it started moving in a zig-zag manner before we felt a strong jolt (when the bus hit the railing of the bridge).”
The deceased have been identified as Lalita Devi (30), Kunti Devi (50), Krish Sharma (12), Kailash Sharma (65), Rajinder Sharma (45), Phooli Devi, Juli Devi, Bimla Devi, Ganesh Sharma and Arvind Sharma.
Condoling the deaths, lieutenant governor of Jammu & Kashmir Manoj Sinha said in a tweet: “Extremely pained by the loss of lives in a tragic bus accident in Jhajjar Kotli, Jammu. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families & prayers for speedy recovery of the injured. Directed district administration to provide all possible assistance & treatment to the injured.”
Meanwhile, chief secretary Arun K Mehta, DGP Dilbagh Singh, ADGP (Jammu Zone) Mukesh Singh and other senior officials visited the Jammu GMC Hospital to enquire about the condition of the injured.
On May 21, a 27-year-old woman was killed and 24 people were injured when a Rajasthan-bound bus carrying Vaishno Devi pilgrims overturned in Jammu & Kashmir’s Reasi district.
