Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 26: In a tragic accident, eight persons were killed when a Tata Sumo, they were travelling in, rolled down into river Chenab at Drabshala near Thathri this morning. The mishap has once again put the administration in the dock as there was no crash barrier on the roadside despite the spot being accident prone.
The ill-fated vehicle bearing registration number JK06-2656 was on its way from Chalasu (Saroor) to Thathri when it met with accident reportedly due to the negligence of the driver, who lost control over the steering when the vehicle reached 83 kilometer milestone.
Though the driver tried to apply brakes yet he failed in his attempts as a result of which vehicle moved towards the right side of the road and then rolled down into river Chenab. A Special Police Officer (SPO), who was also travelling in the ill-fated vehicle, immediately jumped out and had a miraculous escape.
The vehicle hit several rocks on the slopes before landing in the river waters. All the eight occupants of the vehicle including driver sustained severe injuries due to smashing of vehicle with the bounders on the slopes.
On getting information about the accident from the SPO, police teams from Drabshala Police Post and Kishtwar Police Station rushed to the spot and started rescue operation with the help of locals. Even troops of 8 Rashtriya Rifles (RR) reached the spot to assist the police in bringing out occupants of the ill-fated vehicle from the river.
After hectic efforts, all the eight occupants of the Tata Sumo were brought out from the bank of river and rushed to Thathri Hospital where five of them were pronounced as brought dead. Later, two injured passengers succumbed to injuries raising the toll in the accident to seven. One critically injured person was first referred to District Hospital and then to Government Medical College and Hospital but he too succumbed to injuries taking the toll to eight.
The tragic accident has once again put the administration in the dock as there was no crash barrier at the spot where the accident took place. “It is a criminal negligence on the part of the authorities concerned as they didn’t pay any attention towards installing crash barrier at the spot, which is otherwise a accident prone area”, people said, adding “it is also required to be ascertained as to whether the vehicle was having the proper fitness certificate for plying in the hilly areas”.
The deceased have been identified as driver Rajender, son of Jagdish of Dugga, Ashiq Hussain, son of Mohd Ishaq of Thathri, Kuldip Kumar of Saroor, Devraj, son of Jameet Ram of Banjaria, Abdul Kabir, son of Abdul Aziz of Bonjwah, Tirathram, son of Laxmiram of Bonjwah, Kotwal Chand, son of Tara Chand of Bonjwah and Sushil Kumar, son of Kuldip Kumar.
The identity of SPO who had miraculous escape in the accident is Indrajeet.
Meanwhile, Governor, N N Vohra and Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the tragic road accident.
The Chief Minister, in his condolence message, conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved families and prayed for peace to the departed souls. He has sanctioned relief of Rs one lakh each for deceased.
Governor, while expressing sympathy with the bereaved families, has reiterated his concern about the pressing need for the Police and Transport Departments as well as the other concerned agencies, to take all required measures, on immediate basis, to reduce the incidence of fatal road accidents in the State.
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