Two persons were killed and four others injured in an accident at the Jammu cable car project on Sunday, ahead of its scheduled inauguration by the Prime Minister in the first week of February.
A source told Greater Kashmir that the accident took place this evening during a mock drill related to the rescue operation in case of any eventuality.
“During a rescue cabin test, a trolley carrying six workers got unbalanced in the middle of its journey towards Peer-Kho junction from Moh Maya Mandir and fell down from the height of around 30 meters in the forest area, leaving one person dead on the spot and five others injured,” the source said.
A police official identified the person who died on the spot as Rakesh Kumar Ram, a resident of Bihar. Five persons namely Ravinder Singh, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, Manjeet Singh, Lovely and HariKishanYadav (all residents of West Bengal) and Balkirat Singh (mechanical engineer), a resident of Jammu, received injuries in the accident , he said.
The injured were evacuated to the government medical college and hospital (GMC&H) Jammu where HariKishan later succumbed to his injuries, taking the death toll to two.
Meanwhile, governor’s advisor Khurshid Ahmad Ganai visited the GMC&H to inquire about the condition of the injured and said a proper investigation would be conducted into the accident.
“As per the preliminary information, the accident occurred due to a mechanical failure but a proper investigation will be conducted into the incident. Our safety experts will fix the responsibility,” he said.
The cable car project was built by the J&K cable car corporation over the Tawiriver to connect Bahu Fort circuit in Jammu, at a cost of Rs. 75 crore.
GOVERNOR ORDERS MAGISTERIAL PROBE
Governor Satya Pal Malik expressed grief over the loss of precious lives in Jammu Gandola trial run accident at Mahamaya and described the incident as tragic and unfortunate.
The governor has prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls and sympathised with the bereaved families.
The governor has also announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the accident, an official spokesman said.
He also directed the divisional administration to provide free of cost medical treatment to those who were injured in the mishap.
The governor has ordered a magisterial inquiry to be conducted to know the causes of the incident, the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, on the instructions of the governor, advisor Khurshid Ahmed Ganai and chief secretary B V R Subramanyam visited the injured in the hospital late this evening and wished them a speedy recovery.
The chief secretary also visited the accident site and took stock of the situation. He directed the police to sanitise the entire area to prevent any further mishap.
ABDULLAHS GRIEVED, RANA SEEKS PROBE
National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and vice-president Omar Abdullah expressed anguish and grief over the death of two persons in the accident, and described it as “most tragic and unfortunate”.
In a statement, the Abdullahs conveyed their condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for peace to the departed souls. They also wished speedy recovery of the injured.
NC’s provincial president Jammu Devender Singh Rana also expressed grief over the deaths in Jammu Gondola accident and sought a judicial inquiry by a sitting High Court judge into it.
“The tragic incident is needed to be inquired into immediately to fix the responsibility and punish the guilty,” Rana said in a statement, and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and also prayed for peace to the departed souls. He also wished the injured a speedy recovery.