Two devotees were killed and 19 others injured when an ill-fated bus carrying pilgrims to the cave shrine of Shiv Khori skidded off the road and plunged into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Saturday.
On the auspicious occasion of Maha Shivratri, pilgrims from the Rajouri district were on their way to the famous cave shrine of Shiv Khori in the Reasi district.
The accident took place near Taryath in the Ransu area of the Reasi district around 12.30 pm when the driver of the vehicle lost control while negotiating a blind curve and rolled down over 50 feet into a gorge.
The ill-fated bus was carrying patients from Jamola, Bindi, Argi, and Dalhori villages of the Nowshara sub-division of the Rajouri district.
Reports said that 21 pilgrims were travelling on the bus which fell into a deep gorge.
Deeply pained by the loss of lives in an unfortunate road accident in Reasi. My deepest condolences to the families of deceased. Praying for the early recovery of the injured. Directed the district administration to ensure best possible treatment to the injured.
— Office of LG J&K (@OfficeOfLGJandK) February 18, 2023
A rescue operation was launched immediately and all 21 devotees were rushed to a nearby Public health Centre. Two injured were declared as brought dead while 12 critically injured devotees from rushed to Government Medical College Hospital Jammu for specialized treatment.
The deceased have been identified as Arpan Singh (14) and Pankaj Kumar (29).
LG expressed grief over the mishap
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed grief over the accident and directed the district administration to ensure the best possible treatment for the injured.
"Deeply pained by the loss of lives in an unfortunate road accident in Reasi. My deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. Praying for the early recovery of the injured," Sinha said in a tweet.
Three-day Maha Shivratri festival is going on at Shiv Khori
The annual three-day Maha Shivratri Mela is going on at Ransoo, the base camp of the holy Shiv Khori Shrine.
Thousands of devotees from different parts of J&K thronged to attend this festival.
Various departments have established their stalls in the mela to impart awareness to the people about employment schemes under different sectors. The experts of the departments acquainted the youth with the policies and programmes launched to overcome the problem of unemployment.
