Udhampur: Two persons, including a six-year-old girl, died and 15 others were injured after a passenger bus skidded off a road and plunged into a deep gorge at Gulli Gala in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur district on Wednesday morning, officials said.
The bus was on its way from Pechound to Ramnagar when the accident occurred on the Basantgarh-Ramnagar road at around 8 am. Officials said the vehicle was badly damaged after falling into the gorge in the remote area.
Villagers from nearby areas were among the first to reach the spot and began rescuing those trapped in the wreckage. They moved 17 injured passengers to the Public Health Centre at Basantgarh, where medical staff provided initial treatment, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The injured were later taken to the hospital in Ramnagar for further care. Officials said a woman and a six-year-old girl died during treatment there, taking the death toll in the accident to two.
Six passengers were stated to be in a critical condition. They were referred to the district hospital in Udhampur for advanced medical attention.
Senior BJP leader and Udhampur MLA Sunil Bhardwaj visited the hospital to meet the injured and review the treatment being provided. He expressed concern over the condition of the road where the bus fell and stressed the need for its upgradation to make travel safer for commuters.
Bhardwaj also underlined the need to improve healthcare infrastructure in the constituency so that people, especially in emergencies, can receive timely medical assistance and better treatment.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh said he spoke to Udhampur Deputy Commissioner Ananth Dwivedi after receiving information about the accident. “All necessary assistance is being provided and my office is in constant touch with the district administration,” he said.
Officials said rescue and relief operations were underway, while the exact cause of the accident was yet to be ascertained.