AMN / SRINAGAR
At least SIXTEEN Amaranth pilgrims were killed and many others injured when their bus fell into a ravine in Jammu and Kashmir, according to police.
The bus slid off the highway in Banihal area while it was on way for the Amarnath pilgrimage.
A police spokesman confirmed the toll, adding that the Indian government had asked for air force choppers to airlift the severely injured to hospitals.
The cause of the accident remains unclear.
An official said that a bus, bearing registration number JK02Y 0594, was heading towards Srinagar when it rolled down into a gorge near an army camp in Nachilana area of Banihal in Ramban district.
Sixteen pilgrims were killed in the mishap, he said, adding that the injured were shifted to a local hospital for treatment.
He said that nineteen injured are being airlifted to Jammu for specialised treatment.
Eight pilgrims, he said, have sustained minor injuries.
The accident comes just few days after eight Amarnath pilgrims were killed in an alleged militant attack in the disputed region’s Anantnag district.
Over 200,000 pilgrims from across India visit the Amarnath cave in the mountainous south during the 40-day long annual pilgrimage.