Jammu: Sixteen people, including five women and three children, were killed on Tuesday when a passenger vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge in Doda district, police said.
Senior Superintendent of Police, Doda, Mumtaz Ahmad said one more person was rescued from the accident site near Marmat area of the hilly district in a critical condition and admitted to hospital for treatment.
Twelve people were killed on the spot after the accident and four more succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment, Ahmad told PTI.
A police official said all the 16 victims belonged to Mangoota village of Marmat, 10 kms from here, and included five women.
Officials said the vehicle was headed for Gowa village of Marmat from Kleeni when its driver lost control while negotiating a blind curve and the vehicle fell into the 700-metre-deep gorge around 3.25 pm.
The condition of the only survivor, who was initially treated at a local hospital and later shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital Jammu, is critical, they said.
As the news of the accident and subsequent deaths reached the village, the wailing relatives rushed to the local police station to collect the bodies, an official said.
He said the dead included two young couples and their children — Mohammad Irshad, his wife Jabeena and their two minor sons Naseer Ahmed and Tanveer Ahmed, and Firdous Ahmed, his wife Rabia and their baby.
Tanveera Begum and her two toddlers also died in the accident, while leaving her husband Tamoor Ahmad critically injured, the official said, adding that he was referred to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu
after initial treatment at the district hospital.
The other victims were identified as driver Naseer Ahmad, Tabrez, Sameer, Fiaz Ahmed, Ameena and Shaheena, he added.
Meanwhile, a minor boy was crushed to death by a speedy truck near Miran Sahib in the outskirts of Jammu on Tuesday.
Sumit Kumar, a Class 7 student, was crossing the road outside his house when he was hit by the truck, a police official said, adding that the erring driver was arrested and the vehicle seized.

KR Desk