Srinagar, July 11: A 14 year old student, a teacher and a driver were killed, while 44 others injured after a bus carrying students on excursion met with and accident at Nambal Nard on Baramulla-Baba Reshi road in district Baramulla of north Kashmir Wednesday.
While the pall of gloom descended on Kalaroos and its adjoining villages, the news of accident created panic in most parts north Kashmir as scores of schools were on excursion from the area. The Education Department has cancelled the registration of the school and withdrew its affiliation.

ACCIDENT
Police said the bus bearing registration number JK14-6144 was carrying 69 students of Iqra Educational Institute (Middle School) Kalaroos in Kupwara district. The bus police said was on way to Baba Reshi shrine and while crossing a curve at Nambal Nard near Tangmarg, the driver lost control over the vehicle and it fell into a 60 feet deep gorge.
“The accident took place at 11.43 am. So far three persons are dead and 44 injured,” Station House Officer Tangmarg Zahoor Ahmad told Greater Kashmir over telephone. “We have registered a case vide FIR number 84 under section 279 and 304 in Police Station Tangmarg and have started investigations.”
Police identified the deceased as 14 year old Owais Manzoor Wani, Jehangir Ahmad Dar (25) teacher and bus driver Akhter Hussain Ganie (32). The body of the driver was trapped under the wreckage of the bus, and was retrieved after 3 hours of rescue operation carried jointly by local residents, police and the Army.
Soon after the news of mishap spread, the locals in hundreds from Nambal Nard and its adjoining villages rushed to the spot to rescue the victims. They were later joined by police and the Army contingents in rescue operation.
Soon after the new about the accident spread in the area, sources said people made announcements on loudspeakers of the mosques, appealing the people to come out and join the rescue operations. The women were seen carrying potable water and offering it to the injured.
The students, sources added were crying for help. “The scene at accident site was frustrating. But we kept our nerves and managed to get the injured out of the bus,” Abdul Rashid of Nambal Nard told Greater Kashmir.
The students, who were being rescued, were shifted to different hospitals of Srinagar. Around 24 were admitted in SMHS, 9 in SKIMS and 11 in JVC. The injured were ferried in ambulances, police and Army vehicles first to Primary Health Center (PHC) Tangmarg and later to hospitals in Srinagar.
In SMHS hospital, the spleen of class 4th student was removed. “We got 24 injured children, spleen of one student was removed and four were shifted to SKIMS,” Medical Superintendent SMHS hospital Dr Nazir Ahmad Chowdhary told Greater Kashmir adding nobody died in his hospital. “Every student is monitored by teams of doctors and hopeful they will recover.”
The officials at SKIMS told Greater Kashmir that nine injured students were brought to institute. “One among them is in Intensive Care Unit,” they said adding that condition of injured is being monitored closely.
The officials at JVC hospital said that 14 injured students were brought for treatment among them three were shifted to SKIMS. “Others are being treated and are to some extent stable,” they said.

SCENE AT KALAROOS
Pall of gloom descended on Kalaroos village once the news of accident spread in the area and its adjoining villages. The parents and other residents were mourning and were trying to get the first hand information about their wards.
The women were wailing and beating their chest and male folk was trying to get the exact details about the tragedy. “Chaos and confusion prevailed in Kalaroos and its adjoining areas soon after the news spread. The people came out of their homes and thronged the roads. They were inquiring from each other about the accident,” Mushtaq Ahmad Lone of Kalaroos told Greater Kashmir over telephone.
The shops in Kalaroos and its adjoining got closed within minutes after news of accident and employees, traders and students of other schools returned, leaving their engagements half way. Most of the other schools in the area also were closed after they heard the news of the tragic accident.
Though, the people were unable to get any communication link with the teachers, but they later relied on the information provided to them by Police Control Room (PCR) Kupwara and police station Kupwara.
Most of the parents were successful in arriving at SMHS, SKIMS, JVC and Tangmarg hospitals were the injured were being treated.

NO PERMISSION SOUGHT
The school neither sought permission for excursion from the Zonal Education Officer Kalaroos nor from Chief Education Officer Kupwara. “They (school management) has not sought permission from my office or ZEO office,” CEO Kupwara Muzzafar Ahmad told Greater Kashmir. “They have left for excursion on their own. No school here approaches us for permission.”

GOVT SHOCKED, ANNOUNCES RELIEF
Most of ministers have expressed grief over the accident and expressed solidarity with accident victims.
Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah expressed deep grief over the sad demise of children in a road accident.
In his condolence message, Chief Minister said that he has been deeply saddened to hear about the loss of precious lives in the accident. He conveyed his heartfelt condolence and sympathy to the bereaved families.
Minister of State for Home, Tourism and Culture Nasir Asalm Wani immediately after hearing school excursion bus accident at Baba Reshi Gulmarg Road, visited SMHS and other Hospitals where the injured students were shifted for treatment to enquire their welfare.
The Minister went round each ward where injured students kept for treatment, enquired their welfare. He instructed hospital authorities to ensure all possible medicare facilities to the injured students for their early recovery.
Meanwhile, Government has announced Rs 1 lakh each to next of kin of the deceased and Rs. 25 thousand each injured out of Chief Ministers relief fund.
Meanwhile, the Minister expressed his heartfelt sympathies with the deceased families. He prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls.
Minister of State for Transport and Forests Shabir Ahmed Khan has expressed deep shock and grief over the demise of three persons including a student died in a road accident at Baba Reshi Gulmarg road.
In his condolence message, Shabir expressed his sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls.
The Minister also called upon traffic authorities to keep close vigil and frequent checking of passenger buses especially plying on sensitive and hilly roads for avoiding such incidents.
Minister for Agriculture, Ghulam Hassan Mir has expressed deep shock and grief over the tragic road accident which occurred on Wednesday to a school excursion bus of Iqra Public Institute of Kalaroos Lolab on Baba Reshi Road.
In the said bus accident three persons including a students, one teacher and driver of the bus died, and about 39 students and teachers received injures, which were shifted to various hospitals of the valley which include JVC, SKIMS,  and SMHS Hospitals in Srinagar and SDH Tangmarg for treatment.
In his condolence message, Mir expressed his heart felt sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls. He also instructed concerned hospital authorities for providing specialized treatment facilities to the injured ones for their early recovery.
Minister for Transport, Qamar Ali Akhoon, Minister for Rural Development Department, Ali Muhammad Sagar, Minister for Higher Education, Abdul Gani Malik, Minister of Animal Husbandry, Aga Syed Ruhullah and Advisor to Chief Minister, Mubarak Gul have expressed deep shock and grief over the demise of three persons including one student died in a road accident at Baba Reshi Gulmarg road today.
In their condolence messages, Ministers expressed sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls.
Peoples Democratic party (PDP) patron, Mufti Muhammad Sayeed, party president Mehbooba Mufti and senior leaders Muzaffar Hussain Baig, Tariq Hameed Karra, Moulvi Iftikhar Ansari, Muhammad Dillawar Mir, Naeem Akhtar and Syed Altaf Bukhari have expressed grief and shock over the loss of lives in the tragic accident. They expressed heartfelt condolences with the bereaved families.
Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone has expressed sorrow and grief over accident.
In his condolence message he expressed sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed for peace to the departed souls. With inputs from Altaf Baba in Baramulla

Lastupdate on : Wed, 11 Jul 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 11 Jul 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 12 Jul 2012 00:00:00 IST