E-Paper
Three killed, 23 injured after minivan crashes into tree in Jammu’s Samba
The driver of the ill fated minibus absconded from the spot after the accident.
Three people, including two students, were killed and 23 others injured, some of them critically, after a rashly-driven minibus skidded off road and crashed into a tree in Samba town in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday morning.
Eyewitnesses said the minibus was being driven recklessly and it skidded off a curvy stretch before crashing into the trunk of a roadside tree. The impact of the crash was such that the heads of the three dead passengers were badly mutilated.
“Out of the 23 injured, 17 have been referred to Government Medical College in Jammu for specialised treatment,” Samba’s senior superintendent of police Anil Magotra told the Hindustan Times over the phone.
The officer added the driver of the ill fated minibus absconded from the spot after the accident around 8.15am near the gate of an Indian Army unit.
The deceased have been identified as 21-year-old Mehak, daughter of Kali Singh of Chalyari, 15-year-old Janu, son of Balbir Singh of Khanpur, and Prem Jeet of Sarti. Mehak was a college student and Janu was in school.
Soldiers at the army unit immediately began a rescue operation and shifted the injured to Samba hospital.
Enraged over the accident, angry locals blocked the Chachwal-Samba road.
Over speeding and rash driving by minibus drivers have become common in Jammu region and the traffic police look the other way for obvious reasons, said an infuriated eyewitness.
