11 killed, 15 injured as minibus falls into deep gorge in Doda

Jammu, October 28, 2021: At least 11 passengers died while 15 others were injured after the vehicle they were travelling in met with an accident at Sui Gwari on Thathri-Doda road on Thursday morning.

A minibus was on its way to Doda from Thathri when the driver lost control over the vehicle at Sui Gwari and fell into a deep gorge along river Chenab.

“11 passengers travelling in the vehicle died while 15 others are injured,” officials told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), adding that the rescue operation was launched soon after the incident took place.

“The injured which were rescued during the operation were shifted to the hospital for treatment,” officials said, adding that seven injured persons who have received severe injuries were shifted to GMC Jammu by chopper.

Two out of 11 died in the hospital while nine others were declared brought dead at arrival, they said.

The deceased have been identified as Rajsesh Kumar (24) son of Budhi Singh of Purnot, Santosh Kumar, son of Som Nath (22) of Bhawna Kanthi Mohalla, Ghulam Hussain Shah (60) son of Maqbool Shah of Bharote Mohalla, Shabir Ahmad (30) son of Gh Hussain of Bharote Mohalla, Rhitik Sharma (19) son of Lekhi Raj of Jatheli, Jamal Din (23) son of Lal Din of Bakhana Mohalla, Mohd Latief (65) son of Mohd Ramzan of Bohrawa Mohalla, Anari Devi (55) wife of Lt Swami Raj of Sisol Barshalla Thatri, Bahadur Singh (65) son of Hari Singh of Shirdani Bhella, Kamal Singh (40) son of Dharam Singh of Paryote, Gori Devi (65) wife of Bid Lal of Tantana.

The injured who are undergoing treatment at GMC Doda have been identified as Sanjay, son of Santosh Kumar of Panaja, Naveed Akhter son of Thalela, Neetu Devi daughter of Lakshmn Singh of Korara, Vikram Singh son of Gulab Chand of Halwana, Ashok Sharma son of Vidya Lal of Mandrana, Mukesh Kumar son of Sugrev Sharma of Kareli Mohalla, Arif Hussain son of Mohd Musa of Kahra and Saveeta Devi wife of Ramesh Kumar of Dhal Mohalla.

The details available with KNO reveals that seven injured have been shifted to GMC Jammu by chopper, who have been identified as Babar Hussain son of Alla Datta of Thalela, Rohit son of Sugrev Sharma of Malwana, Santosha Devi wife of Gurdev Singh of Premnagar, Poonam Devi daughter of Balwant Singh of Premnagar, Ramesh Kumar son of Hem Raj of Thathri, Monika Devi daughter of Bansal Lal of Panthan Premnagar and Parvex Ahmad son of Khurshid Ahmad of Arif Mohalla Thathri.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolence and announced ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and injured persons.

The Prime Minister’s Office tweeted: “Saddened by the road accident near Thatri, Doda in Jammu and Kashmir. In this hour of grief, I convey my condolences to the bereaved families. I pray that the people who have been injured recover at the earliest. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives due to the accident in Jammu and Kashmir. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000.”

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha also expressed condolence: “Deeply anguished to hear about the tragic road accident in Doda. My thoughts and prayers for the families who have lost their loved ones. Have directed the district administration to provide immediate relief to families of the deceased and best medical assistance to the injured.”

Several other political leaders in Jammu and Kashmir also expressed grief over the loss of lives and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured persons—(KNO)