LG, political leader express grief

Poonch: Six persons were killed when a vehicle they were traveling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge near Nagriana in Kishtwar district on Thursday.
A police officer said that a cab (Eco vehicle-JK17-5089) skidded off the road and rolled down into the gorge near Nagriana. Five persons died on the spot while one person died on the way to the hospital.
He said that soon after the accident, a massive rescue operation was launched. However, five persons died on the spot while one person was shifted to hospital in critical condition. However, before he could be admitted to hospital, he was declared dead on arrival.
He identified the deceased as Latief Ahmad Rather son of Abdul Samad, Rehman Butt son of Ahmed Butt, Irfan Ahmad son of Ghulam Haider Sheikh , Ghulam Hassan son of Mohammad Butt , Atta Mohammad son of Ahmed Butt and Zubair Ahmad son of Atta , all residents of Nagriana.
SHO Kishtwar Abid Bukhari confirmed the death of six persons in the accident.
He said that a case (FIR N0 16/22) under section 279/304 IPC has been registered at police station Kishtwar and investigation has been set into the motion.
Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha expressed anguish at the loss of lives in the accident. “(I’m) deeply anguished at the loss of precious lives in an unfortunate road accident in Keshwan Kishtwar. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families in this hour of grief.”
National Conference President and Member of Srinagar Dr Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah also expressed “shock and grief” over the death of six persons in the road mishap.
The duo prayed for peace to the departed and much needed strength to the bereaved to bear the irreparable loss. They also urged the divisional administration of Jammu to reach out to the injured with rescue and medical care.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the fatal road accident. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families. What is worrying here is the fact that there has been no initiative by the incumbent administration to curb the occurrence of such fatalities,” the senior Abdullah said.
Omar while expressing grief over the deadly accident said, “I pray for peace to departed souls and speedy recovery to injured. My thoughts and prayers are with the bereaved families.”
Apni Party President Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari also expressed profound grief over the loss of precious lives in Kishtwar road mishap wherein five persons were dead as an Eco van rolled down into a deep gorge.
In a statement issued here, Bukhari termed the hapless road accident as extremely unfortunate while raising concerns over the startling increase in the number of road accidents on high-altitude roads.
“The administration must ensure that the vehicle drivers strictly follow the requisite traffic schedules and guidelines in letter and spirit so that such heart-rending mishaps can be positively avoided,” he said. (GNS)

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