Avtar Bhat
KATHUA, Mar 18: Three persons including two motorcyclists were killed while 23 others injured in a tragic road accident at Mela Morh in Hiranagar tehsil of Kathua district this morning.
Out of three dead two including an eight year old minor girl and a motorcyclist died on spot while the third motorcyclist succumbed to his injuries at GMC Jammu where he along with other 20 seriously injured passengers was taken for treatment.
According to eye witnesses, a trailer truck bearing registration number RJ02GB 2605 was on the way towards Jammu from Pathankot while reaching near Mela Morh it took a wrong side turn and hit a passenger bus bearing registration no JK02AP 6423 which was on way from Jammu to Kathua resulting in the death of two persons on spot and injury to 24 others.
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Two motorcyclists also came under the impact of two vehicles and among them one died on spot while the other succumbed to his injuries in GMC Jammu.
One minor girl, who was traveling in the bus, also died on spot.
The deceased have been identified as Som Dutt 40, S/o Channa Ram of Kootah, Hiranagar, Prachi Sharma, 8, D/o Ajay Kumar of Ward No 5, Kathua and Abhay Dubey, 25, S/o Chaman Lal also of Koota, Hiranagar.
Among the 20 persons who were shifted to GMCH, Jammu the condition of three is stated to be critical.
The tragic accident took place when the driver of trailer truck lost control over the steering and it turned towards opposite tube hitting a passenger bus while two motor cyclists were also trapped in them.
The trailer truck was fully loaded with goods. All the four vehicles including two motorcycles were damaged badly. One two wheeler was dragged by the truck while the bus fell into a gorge.
A police team from Hiranagar Police Station led by DySP Border, Raghubir Singh and ASP Pawan Parihar reached on the spot and started rescue operations. The injured were shifted in Ambulance, Police vehicle and private vehicles which came forward for the help.
Earlier all the 25 injured passengers including drivers of trailer truck and Bus were shifted to SDH Hiranagar. Three were shifted to District Hospital Kathua.
After the deteriorated condition of 20 injured passengers they were immediately referred to GMC Jammu by doctors where one more injured succumbed to his injuries.
Out of the seriously injured passengers the condition of one of them deteriorated. He has been identified as Mohan Lal Verma and was shifted to PGI Chandigarh. The condition of other injured is under observation in GMC Jammu while the condition of those admitted in Kathua and Hiranagar Hospital is stable.
Deputy Commissioner, Kathua, Rohit Khajuria, ACR Jatinder Misra along with Red Cross team also reached the spot and shifted the injured to GMC under their supervision. They also accompanied the injured and made all arrangements at GMC for medicare help. The injured were given the medicare and Rs 5000 from Red Cross Fund, said Deputy Commissioner Rohit Khajuria. He said a team of district administration is camping at GMC for Medicare help to the injured.
The driver of the ill fated truck, who is also in critical condition, was identified as Majid Khan, son of Munshi Khan resident of Ramgarh, district Alwar in Rajasthan and his associate Billal Khan son of Abdul Rajak resident of district Alwar, Rajasthan.
The driver of trailer truck said that the cause of road accident was bad condition of National Highway on that particular spot. He said that when the truck reached on that particular spot, the vehicle got a jump due to bad condition of road and he lost control on steering and vehicle turned other side of the tube. He said “I tried my best to control but unfortunately two motorcycles and a bus were hit by it.”
The Additional Superint-endent of Police Sanjay Parihar said the trailer truck entered in opposite side of tube resulting into a tragic accident . Whether it was technical failure or any other cause, the police is investigating the matter. The bad condition of Highway is also a matter of investigation, he added.
An eyewitness Shanti Saroop said that the accident was caused due to worsening condition of National Highway. He said the black topping of National Highway was started but it was stopped in the middle, the reason is known to National Highway Authority of India. The people complained many times about the bad condition of Highway from various places. The National Highway Authority did not bother to repair the road, he added.
The injured were identified as Suchi Devi R/o Bandh, Madhu Devi R/o Goran, Prem Nath R/o Galad, Puran Nath R/o Randhwal, Jagan Nath R/o Rajpura, Kanta R/o Ghagwal, Manju Ram R/o Lakhri, Rekha R/o Samba , Sukhdev Singh R/o Mathrian, Harish Chnader R/o UP, Ajay Kumar R/o Gura Mundian, Kirpal Singh R/o Hiranmagar, Ajit Ram R/o Rajpura, Gotu Ram R/o Chadwal, Seema R/o Sultanpur, Chetna R/o Banu Chack, Anjali R/o Tapyal, Urmila Devi R/o Ghagwa, Tara Chand R/o Budhi , Anjali Verma R/o Ghagwal and Jagan Nath R/o Ghagwal.
Meanwhile Union MoS, Dr Jitendra Singh has expressed his profound grief and shock over the tragic accident in which three precious lives were lost and 23 people injured.
The Union Minister talked to DC Kathua and urged him to take extra care for treatment to injured people. He also prayed for their speedy recovery.
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