A preliminary inquiry revealed that the accident took place because a tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle veered off the mountainous road
At least 17 Amarnath pilgrims were killed and 28 others injured when their Pahalgam-bound bus skidded off and rolled down into a 100-foot-deep gorge in Jammu's Ramban district on Sunday.
This is the second major tragedy to have struck this year's yatra in a week. Terrorists attacked a Jammu-bound bus, returning after a 'darshan', and killed seven yatris in Anantnag on Monday last. One injured died on Saturday, taking the toll to eight.
About Sunday's accident, the police said the state-run bus which was carrying 45 passengers fell into a gushing 'nallah', and was part of a 143-vehicle convoy.
It was carrying 3,623 pilgrims, which left Jammu's Bhagwati Nagar early Sunday morning for Pahalgam and Baltal — the two base camps — for the onward trekking to the holy cave shrine.
Seriously injured pilgrims were airlifted in Indian Air Force M-17 helicopters to Jammu for treatment. Others were shifted to Srinagar. The Army mobilised jawans to extricate passengers from the bus.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed condolences on the loss of lives in the accident that took place at 1:55 pm on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway near Nachliana-Banihal.
A preliminary inquiry revealed that the accident took place because a tyre of the bus burst and the vehicle veered off the mountainous road. Senior Superintendent of Police, Ramban, Mohan Lal said that the convoy was escorted by security forces.
Local Muslims were among the first to rush to the spot and help the rescuers in retrieving bodies and evacuating injured.
The 300-km highway is the lifeline of the state that connects Kashmir with the rest of the country. However it is avalanche-prone and has been in bad shape for quite some time.
J&K Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, directed J&K Chief Secretary BB Vyas to immediately ensure that no state-run bus is deployed on long-distance duties.
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