At least six persons were killed and nine others were injured when a passenger vehicle carrying fifteen persons including the driver, skidded off the road and fell into a gorge near Puneja village of Tehsil Chiralla in Doda district.

According to police sources, four persons died on the spot and two others succumbed later in the hospital.

Reports said that a Trax vehicle, bearing registration number JK02-AR-8358, was on its way from Pul Doda to Chirala when it skidded off the road and fell into a 150-ft deep gorge.

Fifteen persons, including the driver, two children and one woman were on board when the accident took place, police said.

The injured were shifted to District Hospital Doda by the locals and traffic policemen where doctors declared four of them as dead on arrival and three others as critically injured.

Later the two critically injured succumbed in District Hospital Doda, police added.

Pertinently, seven people among two children and one woman were shifted to Government Medical College Jammu hospital for specialized treatment.

Meanwhile, the deceased were identified as Mohammad Yousaf Khan (80) son of Wali Khan resident of Sunar Thawaha, Om Prakash (30) son of Vidya Lal Resident of Bankhan Thawaha, Fazal Din son of Roshan Din resident of Jandani, Punjab Singh son of Khazan Chand Resident of Bonjwah and Rajeshwar Singh 45 son of Bhuda Singh Resident of Ranka. One dead person is yet to be identified.

The police said that the steering wheel of the vehicle got locked which caused the accident in Puneja.

Pertinently, on Wednesday last at least nine people were killed and six others injured after their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge in the state’s Reasi district.

 Meanwhile, Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti, who is in the national capital, has expressed shock and grief over the death of six passengers in a road accident at Doda.

On hearing of the accident, the Chief Minister directed immediate evacuation of the injured for specialised treatment at Jammu hospitals.

Expressing concern over the rising road accidents and loss of lives, Mehbooba Mufti has directed the concerned Departments to undertake reviews and field exercises to minimise this trend and save precious lives.

Guest