Doda, Sep 7: At least five persons were killed and 15 others injured when a Tempo skidded off the road and plunged into Neeru rivulet in Seri area of district Doda Friday.
Reports reaching here revealed that the ill-fated vehicle was on way from Jammu to Bhaderwah, when it skidded off the road in Seri area, 15 km short of Bhaderwah town. The driver was trying to overtake another vehicle which led to the mishap, eyewitnesses said.
Locals and police rushed to the spot and evacuated passengers from the rivulet. A team of 4 Rashtriya Rifles also joined the rescue operation, which lasted for more than an hour, officials said.
All the injured were shifted to district hospital Doda, while some of the critically injured persons were later airlifted to Government Medical College Hospital Jammu.
The deceased have been identified as Sardari Lal son of Charan Das resident of Khelani, Bhaderwah, Suresh Kumar son of Ram Kumar resident of UP, Ardi son of Rashid resident of UP, Bedi daughter of Challu resident of Uttar Pardesh and Bogi wife of Abdul Rashid resident of Uttar Pardesh.
The injured have been identified as Irfan Ahmed resident of Pranoo, Beam son of Sankaya, Challu son of Surat, Sunita daughter of Krishna, Chayalla wife of Challu, Sukh Charan son of Challu, Kajol daughter of Challu, Malvaka daughter of Gundavakha, Ingoer son of Ballu, Krishna daughter of Santokh, Kafallu daughter of Baam, Chanvalla son of Gujjar, Majva son of Gujjar, Khushboo daughter of Rasheed, all residents of Uttar Pradesh.
Two of the injured identified as Irfan Ahmed (driver) and Malvika daughter of Gundavaka were airlifted to GMC Jammu.
Many of the victims are said to be labourers and have been working in Bhaderwah for last three years.
They were returning from Uttar Pradesh today and boarded the ill-fated vehicle from Railway Station Jammu to Bhaderwah.
Meanwhile, Governor N N Vohra, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Union Minister for Health Ghulam Nabi Azad have expressed grief over the loss of lives in the mishap.
In a message, the Governor expressed his sympathy with the bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls.
He also prayed for the speedy recovery of all those injured in this accident and hoped that the State Police and Traffic Department would take steps to ensure against the recurrence of serious accidents in the vulnerable segments of the roads where mishaps continue to take place.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has expressed deep grief over the loss of human lives in road accidents on Doda-Bhadarwah road and in Chadoora.
Omar Abdullah convened his sympathies to the bereaved families and directed the administration for providing all possible medical assistance to the injured. The Chief Minister prayed for peace to the departed souls and early recovery of the injured.
Ghulam Nabi Azad also expressed deep anguish and grief over the Bhaderwah accident, saying, “My heart goes out for the kith and kin of those who lost their dear ones and I am with them in this hour of grief.”
Expressing solidarity with the bereaved families, he said, “I share their agony and pain and pray to Almighty to give strength and courage to them to bear this irreparable loss.”
Azad also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured persons and urged the administration to provide all possible assistance to the injured so that precious lives could be saved.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 7 Sep 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 7 Sep 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 8 Sep 2012 00:00:00 IST