M S Nazki
Poonch, Sept 14 : Eleven people including mother-son duo were killed while 28 others were injured when a minibus they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Poonch on Wednesday.
Official sources told GNS that the accident occurred near Barari Ballah Sawjian when the driver of a minibus bus (JK12-1419) apparently lost control over it this morning and it rolled several hundred meters into the gorge. Soon after the accident, locals, police and army rushed to the spot and launched a massive rescue operation. Nine people died on the spot or on the way to hospital, a police official told GNS. Later two among those critically injured died at the hospital. Among the 28 other injured people, six seriously wounded were airlifted to GMC Jammu for advanced treatment, the official said. also three injured persons were shifted to Srinagar and four others to GMC Rajouri while remaining aer under treatment at district hospital Poonch.
Among the deceased include Maroof Ahmad (14), Bashir Ahmad (40), Rozi Akhtar (18), Zarina Begum (40), Mohammad Hussain (65), Naseema Akhtar (20), Abdul Karim (70), Abdul Qayoom (40), Abdul Majeed (70), Shaida Akhtar (30) and her son Imran Ahmad (6), all locals being residents of Gagrian, Attoli and Saral. In the accident a 13-month-old baby boy escaped miraculously while his mother Shaida Akhtar and brother Imran Ahmad passed away, official sources said. Police said that a case has been registered and further investigations as regards the main cause of the accident have been initiated. (GNS)
