2 dead, 19 injured as bus carrying devotees plunges into gorge in Jammu & Kashmir's Reasi district

Two people including a boy were killed and 19 others injured when a bus carrying pilgrims to Shiv Khori temple skidded off the road and plunged into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Saturday, officials said.

The accident took place near Taryath in the Ransu area around 12.30 pm when the driver of the vehicle lost control while maneuvering a curve and rolled down over 50 feet into a gorge, they said.

The pilgrims hailing from the villages Jamola, Bindi, Argi and Dalhori of Rajouri district were on their way to the famous cave shrine of Shiv Khori in Reasi to offer prayers on the occasion of Maha Shivratri festival, officials said.

A rescue operation was launched immediately and all the 21 devotees were rushed to a nearby Public health centre, where two of them, Arpan Singh (14) and Pankaj Kumar (29) were declared brought dead, they said.

A total of 21 devotees were travelling in the bus which met the accident shortly after crossing into Reasi district from Rajouri, said Station House Officer Dharamsal, Inspector Manpreet Singh who supervised the rescue operation.

12 of the injured were referred to Government Medical College (GMC) hospital Jammu for specialised treatment, the SHO said.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the accident and directed the district administration to ensure best possible treatment to the injured.

"Deeply pained by the loss of lives in an unfortunate road accident in Reasi. My deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. Praying for the early recovery of the injured," Sinha said in a tweet.

In a separate incident, one person identified as Sahil Singh (25) was killed and another, Rohit Singh (24) was injured when their car fell into a deep gorge at Godar Morh area of Bhambla in Pouni tehsil of Reasi district on Saturday.

The injured person was shifted to GMC hospital Jammu after initial treatment in Reasi, the officials said.