 Early Times Report
Reasi, July 15: A huge boulder rolled down a 100-feet high waterfall in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir today, killing seven people and injuring 30 others, police said. A group of people, mostly youngsters, were bathing under the Siar Baba waterfall, one of the biggest in north India, at Talwara, 10 kilometers from Reasi town, when the loose rock and other debris fell on them, Senior Superintendent of Police, Reasi, Tahir Sajad Bhat said.
He said seven people were killed and 30 injured in the incident.
A large number of people had gathered at the spot to spend Sunday holiday. Many of them were bathing under the waterfall when the incident occurred around 3.30 pm.
The others present at the scene rushed to rescue those trapped under the debris. They were joined by police with JCB machines, another police officer said, adding the rescue operation was going on when reports last came in.
He said the death toll might rise as the condition of many injured people was critical.
Six of the dead were identified as Sachin Kumar, Sunny Kumar, Lucky, Kamal Sharma, Priti Gupta and Darshana Devi, all residents of Jammu district, an official said. The identity of the seventh deceased was being ascertained, he added. Most of the dead and injured belonged to Jammu district, the officer said. The injured included 20-year-old Ashok Kumar and his five-year-old son form Uttar Pradesh.
Eight boys and girls and seven women were undergoing treatment at local hospitals, the officer said. Those injured were shifted to the Reasi district hospital in private cars, as the administration alerted the hospital authorities and additional staff, including doctors and paramedics, was rushed to attend to the injured people, he said.
Many people involved in the rescue operation complained that only one doctor was present at the hospital at the time the injured people were admitted for treatment.
Meanwhile, National Conference Vice President and former chief minister Omar Abdullah expressed grief and shock over the incident. My heart goes out to all those who lost their dear ones in the tragic incident," Omar said in a statement here.
Provincial President of the party, Devender Singh Rana, said he spoke to senior administration officers and sought specialized treatment for all those injured.
Injured Identified as Sandeep Son of Devi dass Resident of Dogra Hall Jammu , Parkash Kumar Son of Jagan nath Jammu, Amit Kumar Son of Sat Pal R/o Jammu, Dimple Gupta Son of Satpal R/o Jammu, Sunani Gupta daughter of Dimple Gupta R/o Jammu, Bunty Kumar son of Devi Dass R/o Dogra hall Jammu, Harpreet Singh son of Har deep R/o gole Gujral Jammu, Ashok Kumar Son of Sudesh Kumar Resident of U.P, Akhilesh Kumar Son of Sudesh Kumar R/o UP, Nepar Khokhar son of Nair Massi R/o Vijay Pur Samba, Bhavana wife of Vikas hupta R/o Kanak Mandi Jammu, Meyer Daughter of Vikas Gupta R/o Kanak Mandi Jammu, Vikas Gupta son of Sudesh Kumar R/o Kanak Mandi jammu, Neeraj Gupta Son of Charanjeet Gupta R/o Sarwal Jammu, Nisha Devi R/o Jani Pur, Bati Devi daughter of Pritam lal R/O Gangyal Jammu, Deep Kumar Son of Nisha Ram R/o Reasi, Nirmala Devi wife of Harbans Lal R/o Reasi, Ajay son of Mulk Raj R/o Vijay pur Samba, Amrit Kour daughter of Rajinder Singh R/o Jammu, Sukhvinder Kour Daughter of Swaran Singh R/o Talab Tillo Jammu, Jaspreet Kour daughter of Swaran Singh R/o Talab Tillo Jammu, Akhilesh, Surinder Kumar Sharma son of B.L Sharma R/o Jammu, Raghav Gupta Son of Neeraj Gupta R/o Jammu, Himakshi Gupta daughter of Neeraj Gupta R/o Sarwal Jammu, Jagjit Kour daughter of Sukhdev Singh R/o Jammu, Rakesh Son of Kunj ram R/o Akhnoor, Krishna Son of Sunny Gupta R/o Jammu . |
