Jammu: Five people, including four women, were killed and twenty-nine others injured in three separate road accidents in Doda, Reasi and Kathua districts on Wednesday, police officials said.
Officials said a couple and their daughter were killed when their car fell into a gorge at Khellani in Doda district. A woman and a 13-year-old boy were also injured in the accident and were shifted to the hospital.
The officials identified the deceased as Jai Singh (46), his wife Babli Devi (44) and daughter Sonakshi (18), all residents of the Nagrota area in Jammu. They said the family was returning home after paying obeisance at the Machail Mata shrine in Kishtwar district.
In another accident, officials said two women were killed and four others, including three children, were injured when their car rolled down a hilly road in Reasi district.
The accident occurred when the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a blind curve at the crest of a hill near Chiral in the Mahore area, causing the car to veer off the road and tumble nearly 200 metres down the slope before crashing onto the road below, Sub-Inspector Akhil told PTI.
He said rescuers found Razia Begum (47) dead at the accident scene. The remaining occupants of the vehicle — driver Ashiq Ali (35), his wife Tahira (32), their six-year-old son Ahtisham, three-year-old daughter Ayra, and 12-year-old niece Ayman — were rescued from the wreckage with injuries and rushed to a nearby hospital.
The official said, however, Tahira succumbed to her injuries on the way to the hospital, while the condition of the rest of the injured was stated to be “out of danger”.
He said the family was travelling from Jammu to their Shajroo village.
In yet another incident, at least 23 pilgrims were injured when a bus carrying them skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Kathua district, officials said.
The pilgrims from Goran and Sumb villages of Samba were travelling to the Mata Sukrala Devi Temple in Billawar when the accident took place near Dingi Simbli on the Dhar Road, they said.
Locals rushed to the spot and initiated rescue efforts, with police teams subsequently joining the operation.
All the injured were shifted to hospital, where four of them were stated to be in a serious condition, the officials said. (PTI)
