20 killed, 34 injured as minibus falls into gorge in JK

Twenty people were killed and 34 others, including 18 soldiers, were injured in two separate road mishaps in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.

Police said the driver of an overcrowded minibus (JK19 1593), on way to Ramban from Banihal in Jammu region, lost control over it near Kela Morh and the vehicle rolled down the 200-ft-deep gorge.

20 passengers, including four females, died in the accident while 16 others were injured. “19 dead have been identified, including the driver. The identity of one body was not known,” police said and added seriously injured passengers were airlifted to Jammu for specialized treatment.

Reports said local volunteers, army and the police carried out the rescue operation as it took time for the rescuers to reach the ill-fated vehicle due to the steep slope.

In a separate incident, at least 16 soldiers were injured in a road accident in south Kashmir's Shopian district on Friday night. A police official said that a private truck ferrying the army men of 23 PARA to Balpora base camp skidded off the road in Kanipora village, causing injuries to 16 soldiers.

Some of the grievously injured soldiers were shifted to army hospital in Srinagar, he said.

Deaths due to traffic accidents are becoming deadlier than militancy in Kashmir. Police blame reckless driving and over-crowding in buses as main reasons for rising accidents.

Pertinently, the government is yet to embark upon the multi-crore project for introducing Traffic Interceptor Vans (TIVs) to regulate traffic in the state.

These TIVs-equipped with various modern facilities like cameras, interceptors, and speed radars-were meant to put a check on over-speeding vehicles.