Jammu: Four members of a family lost their lives when the vehicle they were travelling in skidded off the road and plunged into a gorge along the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway at Chenani in Udhampur district on Monday.
Police said that the driver of a car (JK19 1449) on its way to Jammu from Sangaldan lost control over the wheel and the car plunged into a deep gorge at Champeri in Chenani area of Udhampur.
Immediately after the accident, a rescue operation was launched and the injured were evacuated to the hospital for treatment.
However, two persons were pronounced dead at Community Heath Centre (CHC) Chenani and two critically injured were rushed to the District Hospital Udhampur.
They too succumbed to their injuries, taking the death toll in the accident to four.
All the four deceased persons were from a single family.
The deceased persons have been identified as Abdul Hamid son of Jamal Din, Jamal Din son of Abdul Rehman, Shamima Begam, wife of Jamal Din, and Adil son of Gulzar Malik, all residents of Sangaldan, Ramban.
The deceased were close relatives of Greater Kashmir staffer Mehjoor Ahmad Dar.
Union minister Jitendra Singh expressed concern over the mishap. “Just now spoke to DC Udhampur Krittika Jyotsna on receiving information about the unfortunate accident involving a private car resulting in the death of four. My sincere condolences to the grieved families,” Singh posted on social media.
Last year, at least 774 people died and nearly 7000 were injured in over 5452 road accidents across J&K.
Advisor to Lieutenant Governor, Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar had emphasised on the officers of the Transport Department to conduct an analytical study of road accidents so that the major causes of these mishaps could be identified and suitable measures for rectification taken to reduce such adversities in the future.