‘Passenger vehicle was carrying 24 persons against capacity of 14’
Sanjeev K Sharma
JAMMU, July 15: A 6-year old girl and a woman were among seven persons killed and 17 others injured when an overloaded passenger vehicle they all were onboard met with a tragic accident in Ponda area of mountainous Doda district when the driver lost control over the wheels while negotiating a sharp curve and the vehicle veered off the road and landed in a deep gorge this morning.
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Sources informed that the ill fated vehicle of Tempo Traveller make bearing registration number JK06-4847 was coming from Aul Augad to Doda and the accident took place on Doda-Bharth road near Ponda.
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A total of 24 passengers were onboard the accident hit vehicle.
-Excelsior/Rakesh
After hearing the thud due to the fall of the vehicle, locals of the area rushed to the spot and started a rescue operation. Soon they were joined by cops and other personnel and they shifted the accident victims to Government Medical College (GMC) Doda where five of them were declared dead on arrival.
After first aid, three of the 19 injured were shifted to GMC Jammu as they were critical.
Driver of the vehicle was also among the injured.
Sources in GMC Jammu informed that three injured were brought there of which Shakoor Din, 34, son of Asdullah Wani, resident of Aul was brought dead while Uzma, 6, daughter of Amjad, resident of Aul died during the treatment and the third injured Kulsuma, 33, wife of Tariq Hussain, resident of Aul was undergoing treatment at GMC Jammu and was critical.
She was on ventilator till last reports.
Other deceased included Mohd Ashraf, 35, son of Mohd Abdullah; Mangta, 51, son of Gh Wani; Tariq Hussain, 35, son of Abdul Jabbar; Rafiqa Begum, 60, wife of Abdul Latif, all residents of Aul and Atta Mohd, 33, son of Gh Mohd, resident of Balidhar.
The injured were Mohd Rafi, 26, son of Bashir Ahmed; Gh Mohd, 36, son of Abdul Subhan; Abdul Qasim, 45, son of Asdoo Wani; Mohd Rafi, 27, son of Gh Mohd; Abdul Rashid, 42, son of Abdul Gani; Saima Banoo, 17, daughter of Lassa Naik; Shamima Begum, 45, wife of Mohd Amin; Shamala Begum, 30, wife of Amjad; Heena Banoo, 12, daughter of Gh Malik; Aqib Hussain, 20, son of Gh Mohd; Abdul Qayoom, 45, son of Gh Wani, all residents of Aul, Doda; Hakim, 22, son of Gh Mohd, resident of Dhar; Muzee-ur-Rehman, 25, son of Shams Din Parray, resident of Gundna and Sahil Farooq, 17, son of Farooq Ahmed, resident of Udyan Pur.
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Doda, Harvinder Singh, SSP Doda Sandeep Mehta and other officers were at GMC Doda supervising the treatment being provided to the injured.
When contacted, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Doda, Sandeep Mehta informed that 24 persons were onboard the vehicle which met with the accident while its capacity was 14 and it was overloaded.
He said that most of the deceased were relatives.
“There can be multiple reasons for the accident. It had rained last night and water from mountains had caused slippery conditions with mud there and the roads were newly constructed,” SSP Mehta maintained.
He also said that there were no parapets along the road like many other roads in the region.
DC Doda told reporters that the authorities have taken cognizance of the overloaded vehicle.
He assured adequate relief as per the rules to the families of those who were killed besides best possible treatment to the injured.
Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha has expressed shock over the tragic road accident.
In a condolence message, Sinha said: “Pained by the loss of lives due to the tragic road accident in Doda. My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief. He prayed for a speedy recovery of the injured.
Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah; former CM Ghulam Nabi Azad and many others also grieved the loss of lives in the tragic accident.
In a post on X (earlier Twitter), the office of the Chief Minister posted: “the administration has been directed to ensure immediate medical assistance and support to all affected.”
“The Chief Minister extends heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families and prays for the speedy recovery of the injured,” the post on X maintained.
Minister of State (MoS) at Prime Minister Office (PMO), Dr. Jitendra Singh has expressed shock and grief over the accident and expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.
On receiving information about the accident, he talked to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Doda, Harvinder Singh.
In a post on X, he posted: “All possible help and medical aid being provided. DC is personally supervising the entire exercise and giving me regular updates. Any further assistance, as required, will also be provided.”
Taking cognisance, Police has registered a case in this regard and started investigations.
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