Srinagar: A 29-year-old man was killed and another injured on Wednesday when a boulder from a hillock hit their car on the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway near Ramban, prompting authorities to suspend the traffic on the strategic road amid inclement weather, officials said.
The highway was lashed by intermittent rains since Tuesday.
Separately, at least five BSF personnel were injured when their bus skidded off the road and turned turtle near Chingus on Jammu-Poonch highway, the officials said, adding the condition of one of the injured jawans was stated to be “serious”.
The private car was hit by a boulder from a hillock near Jaiswal bridge near Ramban town on Jammu-Srinagar national highway around 12.45 pm, resulting in the death of one person and injuries to another, the officials said.
The deceased was identified as Adil Bashir (29), a resident of Bemina locality of Srinagar, they said, adding the injured was shifted to hospital.
The officials said reports of shooting stones and mudslides from the hills overlooking the highway were also reported from various places including Karol, Digdole and Ramsu while snowfall also started in the highway town of Banihal and adjoining areas this afternoon.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban range, Sunil Gupta requested commuters to avoid unnecessary travel on the highway due to the inclement weather and lurking threat of landslides and shooting stones.
“One person died in an unfortunate incident of a vehicle being hit by a shooting stone. There is a danger of falling boulders as it has been intermittently raining for the last two days and the weather office has issued more rain/snow for several more days,” he said.
A traffic department official said the traffic on the highway was suspended as a precautionary measure due to shooting of stones and slippery conditions of the road in Banihal due to snow.
“The situation will be reviewed later and a decision whether to allow the traffic on the highway will be taken, depending on the condition of the road,” he said.
The officials said five BSF personnel were injured when their bus, part of a convoy, skidded off the road and turned turtle at Chowki Narian in Rajouri district.
Condition of one of the injured was stated to be “serious”, the officials said, adding the packed 42-seater bus was on way to Jammu as the paramilitary personnel were leaving the station on leave.
The rest of the personnel escaped with bruises, they said.
