Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, May 22: Two students from Jammu region were killed and several others sustained injuries after a private bus overturned on the Amritsar-Pathankot National Highway near Kaler Khurd village in Punjab’s Gurdaspur district on Friday morning. The accident also triggered a chain collision involving five vehicles travelling behind the bus, leaving multiple passengers and motorists injured.
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According to reports, the bus bearing registration number JK02DS-8849 was travelling from Amritsar to Jammu when it met with the accident near the Sekhwan police station area close to Batala around 7 AM. The exact reason behind the mishap could not be immediately established, while police have initiated an investigation to ascertain the circumstances that led to the overturning of the vehicle.
Officials identified one of the deceased students as Akhil Pandoh, a resident of Dharamshal area of Kalakote in Rajouri district, while Nitin Mahajan was stated by sources to be a resident of Billawar area in Kathua district. Both were students of the Global Group of Institutes in Amritsar and were returning to their homes in Jammu along with six other friends after completion of their examinations.
The impact of the accident caused panic on the busy highway and also resulted in collisions involving five vehicles moving behind the bus. Several persons travelling in the bus and the affected vehicles sustained injuries, some of them stated to be serious.
Soon after the incident, police teams, medical staff and road safety personnel reached the spot and launched rescue and evacuation operations. The injured were shifted to nearby hospitals for treatment.
One of the students travelling in the bus, who escaped with minor injuries, said they were heading home after their examinations had concluded. “I was sitting in the back seat when suddenly the bus overturned. We do not know what caused the accident,” he told reporters.
Reports said the body of Akhil Pandoh reached his residence late Friday night, while there was no official confirmation regarding the whereabouts of Nitin Mahajan’s body till the filing of this report.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann expressed grief over the tragic incident and announced an ex gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased students.
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