21 killed, 40 injured as bus falls into gorge in Jammu; PM Modi announces ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh
JAMMU: At least 21 people were killed and 40 injured after a bus carrying pilgrims skidded off the road and rolled down into a gorge in Jammu district on Thursday, according to officials.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences at the disaster and announced an ex-gratia amount Rs 2 lakh to be given to the next of kin of each victim and Rs 50,000 to the injured.
The J&K LG also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 Lakh to be given to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs 50,000 for those injured in the accident.
The incident took place at the Tangli morh in the Choki Chora belt of the district, with the bus tumbling approximately 150 feet down into the gorge.
The bus was carrying pilgrims from Haryana's Kurukshetra area to the Shiv Khori area located in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, as per the officials.
Initially, there was confusion regarding the location of the accident, with officials mistakenly reporting that it had occurred in Rajouri district.
A rescue operation, involving the collaboration of police and local residents, has been initiated to provide assistance to the victims.
The injured individuals have been transported to the Akhnoor hospital and the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital in Jammu for medical treatment, according to the officials.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge expressed his on the tragedy, and urged the Jammu administration to provide 'urgent and immediate' relief to the injured.
Our heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims. We urge the administration to provide urgent and immediate medical relief to the injured, and provide adequate compensation to the victims," the Congress chief said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
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