EARLY TIMES REPORT
Jammu/Katra, March 15 : Tragedy today struck Latti near the most reverred and pre-historic Sudhmahadev shrine of Lord Shiva in Udhampur when an overloaded minibus skidded off the road and plunged into a 350 ft deep nullah, resulting in the death of 12 persons, including a two-year-old girl, and injuries to 56 others.
The ill-fated minibus (JK14A/7565) was on its way from Latti Dhuna to Chenani. Against the capacity of 30, it was crammed with 68 commuters most of whom were hanging from the door and sitting on the rooftop, according to police sources.
The minibus was overloaded because the routine evening bus service from Latti Dhuna to Chenani was cancelled yesterday, the sources added.
As the vehicle was speeding, its driver Sanjay alias Sanju failed to negotiate a sharp curve near Choka Nullah as a result of which it skidded off the road and fell into Kossar Nullah at about 10.30 am. Sanju was said to have fled the spot unhurt.
The rescue operation was started by police with the help of locals and all the victims were evacuated to Chenani hospital. Ten of the injured were declared brought dead by the doctors in Chenani hospital. They were identified as Koushalaya Devi (62), wife of late Karan Singh of Mantalai, Raj Kumar (24), son of Om Prakash of Kossar, Baby Gugoo (2), daughter of Kala Ram of Kossar, Kishore Kumar (35), son of Dharmu of Sarar, Asha Begum (70), wife of Abdul Majid of Latti Dhuna, Abdullah (80), son of Rustam of Sira, Ghulam Nabi (57), son of Abdul Rehman of Bain, Shatoo (55), son of Ismail of Balli Nullah, Romesh (30), son of Uttam Chand of Sira, and Laboo (50), wife of Abdullah of Kossar.
Fourteen of the injured were airlifted to the GMC hospital, Jammu, following deterioration in their condition. They included Hans Raj (65), son of Mansa Ram of Sarar, Jeevan (26), son of Amarnath of Sarar, Nikhil (6), son of Som Dutt of Maroothi, Sunil Singh (25), son of Pritam Singh of Maroothi, Badri (55), son of Hem Raj of Sarar, Abdul Rashid (47), son of Faqir Ali, Balwan Singh (21), son of Krishan Lal of Mantalai, Kala (32), son of Pappi of Mantalai, Shakti Kumar (18), son of Kaka Ram of Ramnagar, Suresh Kumar (30), son of Sansar Chand of Udhampur, Shankru (51), son of Loffu of Tamatar Morh, Krishan Lal (62) of Mantalai, Sunil (10), son of Nishu of Mantalai, Wali Mohammad (60), son of Nandu of Batote.
Of them, Hans Raj and Jeevan later succumbed to their wounds. The condition of others was also stated to be serious. Sources said belongings of the commuters were scattered and blood splattered all along the accident site. The dead and the injured included government officials also, the sources added. The other injured were undergoing treatment at the Chenani and Udhampur district hospitals.
They were identified as Makhan Singh (17) of Marhoti, Suresh Kumar (38) of Marhoti, Purna Devi (42) of Marhoti, Reeta Devi (25) of Marhoti, Suram Chnad (65) of Marhoti, Nagina Begum (27) of Latti Dhuna, Sansar Chand (65) of Malti, Balwan (21) of Marhoti, Vijay Kumar (32) of Sira, Shah Ali (28) of Sira, Pankaj Kumar (15) of Sira, Mathu (23) of Latti Dhuna, Bihari Lal (16) of Sarar, Rajinder Singh (15) of Sarar, Mohammad Mansa (19) of Sira, Mohammad Sadiq (45) of Sira, Sham Lal (46) of Sira, Mansa Ram (55) of Sira, Subash Chand (29) of Sira, Girdhari Lal (50) of Bupp, Bodh Raj (22) of Latti Dhuna, Reeta Devi (21) of Latti, Bhushan Kumar (19) of Bupp, Chanchala (30) of Mantalai, Kuldeep Kumar (25) of Marhoti, Rashpal Singh (22) of Bupp, Vijay Kumar (18) of Sira, Rafiqa Begum (35) of Marhoti, Udhay Chand (51) of Sirar, Abdul Hamid (26) of Kossar, Gulshan (25) of Bupp, Romesh Kumar (31) of Bashat, Arshad (34) of Latti Dhuna, Bittoo (22) of Gusala Mandir, Purshotam Kumar (26) of Sira, Kulbir Chand (22) of Mantalai, Farooq Mohammad (36) of Bupp, Satya Devi (12) of Sira, Charan Dass (45) of Kossar, Shankru (51) of Kud, Krishan Lal (62) of Mantalai, Purshotam Kumar (22) of Latti, Bihari (16) of Sarar, Rajinder Singh (15) of Sarar, Vijay Kumar (17) of Jig, Brij Mohan (19) of Marhoti, Subash Chand (29) of Sarar, Puran (3), son of Nasib Chand of Sarar, Des Raj (54) of Dhar Road, Udhampur, Sunil Singh (25) of Marhoti, Kala Ram (32) of Kohera, Sushma (32) of Kossar, Bali Mohammad of Bupp, Badri Nath (55) of Koi Nullah, Abdul Rashid (55), and Nikhil (7) of Marhoti.Most of the injured had sustained multiple fractures, the sources added. Police had registered a case in this connection. |
