23 labourers killed in J&K road mishap

SRINAGAR: At least 23 labourers were killed and 26 others injured when the bus in which they were travelling in fell into a gorge near Ramban on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. The death toll may increase as the condition of some of the injured is critical.

Inspector General of Police, Jammu range, SP Vaid, said the accident happened at Kila Mode near Ramban when the driver lost control while negotiating a curve. “All the injured have been shifted to Jammu and Ramban hospitals,” he said.

Colonel Dinesh Kumar Badola said two columns of army helped in rescue and relief operations. “Our troops evacuated the dead and injured. The injured were given necessary first aid and then shifted to hospitals,” he said.

A chopper was pressed into service to airlift the seriously injured to Jammu hospital. The police blamed human error for the accident. “The driver could not control the bus. We are in the process of lifting the wreckage of the bus. Further investigations are on,” said G Mohanty, deputy inspector general of police Doda-Udhampur range. Most of the dead are the labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal, who were going to Srinagar for earning their livelihood.