At least 10 dead and dozens injured after ‘overloaded’ bus carrying Hindu pilgrims to Kashmir shrine slides off highway into gorge
- The bus was on its way to the city of Katra from the city of Amritsar in Punjab
A bus carrying Hindu pilgrims to a shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir skidded off a highway bridge in a Himalayan gorge on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and injuring 55, police said.
The bus was on its way to the city of Katra from the northern state of Punjab, the city of Amritsar, when it fell into the gorge near the city of Jammu.
Local police officer Chandan Kohli told reporters the bus was overloaded. He said the dead were from the eastern state of Bihar in India.
Residents and authorities rushed to the accident and launched a rescue operation. The injured have been hospitalized.
The shrine of Vaishno Devi in Katra is highly revered by Hindus and hundreds of thousands visit it every year.
Rescue workers prepare to use a crane after a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims to a shrine slipped off a highway bridge in a Himalayan gorge near Jammu, India, Tuesday, May 30, 2023
Tires of a bus stand on the edge of a bridge after an accident near Jammu, India, Tuesday, May 30, 2023
People watch as rescuers use a crane after a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims to a shrine slipped off a highway bridge in a Himalayan gorge near Jammu, India, Tuesday 30 May 2023
India has one of the highest road death rates in the world, with hundreds of thousands killed and injured every year. Most accidents are attributed to reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and obsolete vehicles.
Last September, 11 people were killed and 29 injured after an overcrowded minibus carrying schoolchildren plunged into a steep gorge in northern India.
Nearly 40 people were crammed into the minibus carrying some students when the accident occurred in Kashmir.
The bus went off the road and plunged about 80 meters into a steep canyon near Sawjian village in Poonch district of Jammu.
The bus was on its way to the city of Katra from the northern state of Punjab, the city of Amritsar, when it fell into the gorge near the city of Jammu
Nine people were killed on the spot and two others later died in hospital. Officials said the 29 injured were in critical condition, including six who were airlifted to a hospital in Jammu, the Press Trust of India news agency reported.
Footage from the scene of the crash showed local villagers, police officers and soldiers running down the hill to rescue the injured passengers from the bus, which had flipped on its side after rolling through the gorge.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha announced in a tweet that compensation of 500,000 rupees (£5,447) would be given to the families of the victims.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Droupadi Murmu both expressed their condolences on Twitter.
My thoughts are with all those who have lost their loved ones. I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Modi wrote.
Rescue team inspects the wreckage after a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims to a shrine skidded off a highway bridge in a Himalayan gorge near Jammu, India, Tuesday, May 30, 2023
A rescue operation team inspects the wreckage of a bus after an accident near Jammu, India, Tuesday, May 30, 2023