Akhnoor accident
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At least twenty-one passengers were killed and 59 others were injured after a bus carrying Lord Shiva's devotees to the holy cave shrine of Shiv Khori in Reasi district rolled down into a deep gorge near Tanda area of Akhnoor in Jammu district this afternoon.

Official sources told International Business Times that the ill-fated bus rolled down into a deep gorge near Chungi Morh on the Jammu-Poonch highway, resulting in the death of 21 pilgrims and injuries to over a dozen others.

Initial reports said that a UP-numbered tourist bus carrying pilgrims from Hathras, Uttar to Shiv Khori, plunged into an around 150-foot-deep gorge near Chungi Mode at Chowki Choura between Akhnoor and Bhambla.

For help, assistance and queries regarding the Bus accident occurred near Akhnoor today, following numbers can be contacted:

  • •DM Office 9622699666, 9419160547
  • •SP Office 9419172197, 9419194102, 9596869639
  • •Medical 9419190500, 9419190493

At least seven pilgrims on board the bus died on the spot, and 14 others succumbed to their injuries in the hospital.

Among the injured persons, as per the official, include; Krishna (13), Jai Beer Singh (42), Subash Chand (39), Sanjay Kumar (40), Shanti (65), Bila Devi (50), Radhika (28), Satveer (37), Gomita (24), Ankusha (5), Sunita (35), Jatin (17), Kajal (16), Geeta Devi (25), Amarabati (59), Kamlesh (45), Anju (18), Raghuvir Singh (70), Yagusha (32), Rajwati (59) and Munni Devi (50).

He said that the injured have been shifted to sub-district hospital Akhnoor, where the critically injured have been referred to GMC Jammu.

Akhnoor accident
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Eyewitnesses claimed that the driver of the bus could not negotiate the sharp curve on the road resulted in the fatal mishap. "There were 60–70 pilgrims travelling in the bus to the holy Shiv Khori cave shrine in Reasi district," they said.

He added that the identities of the deceased and injured were being ascertained, while police have taken cognizance of the incident.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the incident and termed it heart-rendering.

 "The bus accident in Akhnoor, Jammu is heart-rending. I condole the loss of lives and pray to the almighty to give the bereaved families the strength to bear the irreparable loss. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said in a post on 'X'.

Sinha said that the administration was providing all possible assistance to the "bereaved families" and is also extending medical facilities to those who have been injured.

"A bus carrying passengers from Hathras, Uttar Pradesh has met with an accident near Tanda, Akhnoor in Jammu. Casualties feared; Rescue operations are underway," District Magistrate Jammu said in a post on 'X'.

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