A bus met with an accident in Udhampur, Jammu on Monday morning. The bus, coming from Ramnagar, fell into a ditch about 100 feet below the road near Kagot and overturned. 16 people lost their lives in this accident, while more than 20 passengers were injured. According to the injured passengers, the bus was carrying more people than its capacity and was moving at high speed. The tire of the bus suddenly burst near Kagot drain, due to which the driver lost control of the vehicle and the bus fell off the road. The upper part of the bus was completely damaged in the accident.
In a social media post, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh confirmed that the death toll in the accident has risen to 16. The injured are currently being treated at the Government Medical College (GMC), Udhampur. Earlier, he had said that the crashed bus was a public transport vehicle. Rescue operations were immediately started, and all possible assistance is being provided to the injured. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident and announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.
Passengers’ statement: The bus was traveling at high speed; Lost control after tire burst
Eyewitnesses present at the accident site said that the accident occurred due to overloading of the bus and excessive speed. When asked, the injured passengers also confirmed that the driver was driving the bus very fast. He told that after the tire burst, the driver lost control of the vehicle, due to which the bus fell from a height of about 100 feet.
Earlier in January, an Army vehicle fell into a 400 feet deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Doda district on Thursday. 10 soldiers were killed in that incident, while 11 others were airlifted to the military hospital in Udhampur for treatment. The accident took place near Khanni Top on the Bhaderwah-Chamba inter-state road. Doda Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh said that the driver had lost control of the vehicle due to snow on the road.