AGENCIES
At least seven passengers, including four women, were killed and three others critically injured after a minibus skidded off a mountainous road and fell into a river in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday, the police said.
The incident took place on the Thathri-Gandoh road near Piyakul village, 42 km from Doda town, they said.
Superintendent of Police (SP), Bhaderwah, Raj Singh Gouria said the minibus was on its way to Chilli village from Doda when the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a blind curve. As a result, the minibus plunged into the deep gorge.
The bus landed on the Kalnai river bed and its roof was blown away by the impact, another police official said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through the official PMO Twitter account, said he was “anguished by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Doda.”
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force (IAF) joined the operation to airlift the injured.
“A message was received late afternoon regarding a bus that had toppled into the valley near Doda. An IAF helicopter of 130 HU captained by Wing Commander Mukul Khare was immediately pressed into service to rescue the critically injured passengers,” a defence spokesperson said.