Ramban, Mar 29: In a tragic road accident, at least ten passengers, including the driver, Friday died on the spot when the vehicle (Tavera Taxi) in which they were travelling, plunged into a several hundred-feet-deep gorge in the Battery Chasma area of Ramban on Srinagar Jammu National Highway.
All the nine deceased passengers, who were labourers by profession, hailed from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh while the driver of the ill-fated vehicle hailed from Jammu.
The impact of the accident could be gauged from the fact that the vehicle was nowhere visible in the gorge.
Only a few parts and a number plate were recovered from the accident spot while some parts of the vehicle were recovered in Bisleri Nullah, around 1 km away from the mishap site, on Friday evening.
It was presumed that parts of the vehicle might have been washed away in Bisleri Nullah.
Officials said, “A Tavera Taxi, bearing registration number JK12-8728, carrying nine passengers en route to Srinagar from Jammu, plunged into several hundred-feet-deep gorge in the Battery Chasma area of Ramban on Srinagar Jammu National Highway around 1 am during the intervening night of March 28 and 29.”
They said a truck driver saw the vehicle rolling down into the gorge and informed police.
“On getting information, rescue teams of police, QRT, SDRF, army and local volunteers from Ramban, Ramsu and Banihal reached the spot to trace the vehicle in the gorge. The rescue operation could not be immediately started due to heavy rain and darkness in the steep gorge,” they said.
“Rescue operation was hampered due to tough terrain, rain and darkness. It was launched by the joint rescue teams with first light on Friday to trace out occupants of vehicles in the deep gorge and on the embankments of Bisleri Nullah,” SSP Ramban Anuj Kumar said.
He said that ten bodies were recovered from the spot and shifted to the mortuary of District Hospital (DH) Ramban for identification.
It took rescue teams 12 hours to trace out and retrieve the scattered bodies from the several hundred-foot-deep gorge.
“The rescue teams after hectic efforts retrieved all the ten bodies from the gorge and shifted them to the mortuary of District Hospital Ramban for identification at around 2 pm on Friday. Only two persons, including the driver of the vehicle, have been identified so far while efforts are being made to establish the identity of eight other deceased persons,” officials said.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Ramban, Basheer-ul-Haq Choudhary; DIG, Shridhar Patil and SSP Anuj Kumar supervised the rescue operation at Battery Chasma.
Police said all the dead bodies were still lying in the mortuary of the District Hospital, Ramban.
“Rescue operation is still going on at Battery Chasma,” SSP Anuj Kumar said.
Following the accident, the Union Minister of State in PMO and the sitting MP Dr Jitendra Singh shared his condolences on ‘X’ as he posted, “Spoke to DC #Ramban, Baseer-ul-Haq after learning about the tragic road accident in which a passenger taxi rolled down a deep gorge on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway near Battery Chashma leading to loss of 10 lives. Police, SDRF and civil QRT have reached the spot. Rescue operation is going on. I’m in constant touch. My sincere condolences to the bereaved families.”
Later in the evening, the police issued the list of all the deceased, who were identified as driver Balwan Singh, 47, son of Purab Singh, resident of Amb Gharota, Jammu; Bipin Mukhiya, 40, son of Vishwanath Mukhiya, resident of West Champaran, Bihar; Raju Kumar, son of Sardha Nishad, resident of Bharisthan Semralabadaha, West Champaran, Bihar; Avadhesh Bin, son of Swaminath Bin, resident of Bhaisahiya Semralabedaha, West Champaran Naraipur, Bihar; Belas Bin, son of Badari Bin, resident of Ward No 8 Pachrukha Sirisiya Madhanpur West Champaran, Tinferia Bihar; Indrajit Bin, son of Swami Nath Bin, resident of Bhaisahiya Semralabedaha, West Champaran, Naraipur Bihar; Raj Kumar Bin, son of Bechu Bin, resident of village Kalash Nagar Narayanpur, West Champaran, Bihar; Hari Bin, son of Chnnar Bin, resident of Bairi Asthan Semralabedaha, West Champaran Semralabedaha; Sandeep, son of Shivmangal, resident of Sohasa Maharaj Ganj, Uttar Pradesh and Rajan Mukhiya, son of Sonu Mukhiya, resident of Belaura Sahsu, West Champaran Bihar.