ITBP man killed, 34 injured in Ramban mishap
30 passengers escape miraculously as bus hangs from edge of hill road
Banihal/Jammu, Dec 24: An Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel was killed and 34 others were injured Monday when a bus carrying them skidded off the road and fell into a gorge along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, police said.
Five of the injured ITBP personnel are in a critical condition, a police officer said.
The vehicle was part of a Jammu-bound convoy and the accident occurred near Khuni Nallah in Ramban district around 8.45 am, a police officer said.
An ITBP personnel was killed while 34 others, including a civilian driver and conductor, were rescued and rushed to the District Hospital in Ramban, the officer said.
Trees prevented the bus from falling further down in the gorge, the officer said.
Around 35 people were travelling in the bus.
Meanwhile, in a separate accident, one person died and five others were injured after a car and a passenger cab suffered a collision in Banihal area of the same district.
Reports said a private car and a passenger cab collided near Gund Tethar Banihal on Srinagar-Jammu highway, resulting into death of one person and injuries to several others.
The deceased was identified as Muhammad Abdullah, a resident of Kishtwar.
An official said the accident took place due to slippery road condition, adding that the injured were taken to a hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile over 30 passengers had a miraculous escape when a bus skidded off a slippery hill road and teetered precariously over a steep gorge in Doda district on Monday, police said.
Locals helped rescue the passengers from the bus, which was wedged between two concrete parapets on the winding road with half the vehicle was hanging over the gorge at Gatsu village on the Batote-Kishtwar highway in Jammu region.
The bus was on its way to Jammu town from Padder area of Kishtwar district when the accident took place in the morning, officials said.
The driver lost control of the vehicle due to frost on the road in the sub-zero temperatures, they said, citing preliminary investigation reports.
In another incident, one Arun Raina was found dead inside his car, which was pulled out from a canal near Sawan Chak. The vehicle apparently fell into the canal on Sunday night and was noticed by some persons who informed the police, the officer said.
