One dead as bus falls into gorge in Rajouri district

Jammu, March 28

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A 65-year-old passenger was killed and several others injured on Monday when an overloaded bus skidded off the road and rolled down into a gorge in Rajouri district.

The bus, carrying over 50 passengers, was on its way from Pukharni village to Naushera. The accident took place at Debatta near Lam around 10 am, officials said. They said rescue teams comprising locals, the Army and the police evacuated nine seriously injured persons to hospital, where one of them, Bilal Hussain of Pukharni village, succumbed to his injuries.

Others who had received superficial injuries were discharged after getting the first aid. A defence spokesman said troops of the Rashtriya Rifles helped in the rescue efforts. “Regardless of personal safety, soldiers of Rashtriya Rifles negotiated the steep slopes and retrieved the gravely injured passengers. The injured were further evacuated by troops in military vehicles to Sub-District Hospital Naushera for treatment,” he added. —