Excelsior Correspondent
POONCH, Nov 16: Three members of a marriage party were killed while eight others injured, some of them critically, when a Tata Sumo rolled down into a deep gorge in Uchhad area of Mendhar in district Poonch late this evening.
Reports said the mishap took place near BSF Camp Uchhad, about 11 kilometers from Mendhar, when some members of a marriage party were travelling in the ill-fated Sumo No. JK12/ 1179 from Uchhad area to Poonch via Krishna Ghati. Most of the passengers were youth in the age group of 16 to 25 years.
SDPO, Mendhar Riaz Tantray told the Excelsior that he received information of accident around 7.50 pm, hardly five to ten minutes after the mishap. He said that Tata Sumo was on way to Poonch side from Uchhad village in Mankote tehsil. Eleven members of a marriage party including driver were on board the vehicle.
The youth were listening loud music and shouting while traveling in the vehicle. The over speeding vehicle due to slippery road conditions, went out of control and rolled down into about 40 feet deep gorge at Tali Morh, just near the BSF Camp on Mendhar-Krishna Ghati-Poonch Road, Tantray maintained.
He further said the jawans from nearby Camp and locals of the area rushed to the site for rescue operation immediately after accident. It was darkness and they had to struggle hard to remove the dead bodies and injured from the wreckage of the vehicle lying in the gorge. The security men provided big torches and people also used torches of their mobile phones to rescue the injured on the road.
The police also arrived there from Mankote Police Post after some time. While three youth were killed on the spot, eight injured were rushed to Sub District Hospital, Mendhar.
The deceased were identified as – Murtaza Arif son of Mohd Arif, Mohd Nisar ( driver), son of Mohd Sadiq and Mohd Amir, son of Said Akbar, all residents of Uchhad. Their dead bodies were shifted to the mortuary of SDH, Mendhar.
Out of the eight injured admitted to Mendhar Government Hospital, three critically injured were referred to Government Medical College & Hospital, Jammu. They were identified as Shahid Iqbal, Mohd Ramzan and Mohammed Showkat from Uchhad village. Five others undergoing treatment in Mendhar Hospital are- Samrez Iqbal, Zahid Iqbal, Umar Bilal, Tahir Iqbal and Taimur Ahmed. The police has taken cognizance of the matter.
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