Udhampur/Jammu: Two persons were killed and 48 injured, some of the them critically, when a bus carrying a marriage party skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Udhampur district on Thursday, official sources said.
The bus, which was on its way from Ramnagar to Chhitredi village, met with an accident near Kiya village, officials said adding that the condition of several injured persons was critical.
Police said that the driver of the bus bearing registration number JK14D-5050 carrying 50 baratis lost control over the vehicle in the area on Basantgarh road as a result of which the bus skidded off the road and plunged into a 100 meters deep gorge in Ramnagar tehsil.
Two people identified as Prem Nath, 55, son of Lisu, resident of Gundian and Shammi Kumar, 32, son of Munshi Ram, resident of Bassi died in the accident. Forty-eight others injured in the mishap were evacuated and shifted to the Sub District Hospital at Ramnagar of whom 14 critically injured were referred to District Hospital Udhampur and GMC Jammu for specialized treatment, an official said.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each for the Next of Kin of those who lost their lives in the tragic bus accident.
The injured will be given Rs. 50,000 each and the UT Government will bear the cost of their treatment, an official communiqué said.
It said that LG expressed grief over the unfortunate incident and directed the district administration to ensure the best possible treatment to the injured.
“Extremely pained by the loss of lives due to a tragic road accident in Ramnagar, Udhampur. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for speedy recovery of injured”, Sinha said.
