 Jammu: At least 20 people were killed and 32 others injured when an overcrowded passenger bus skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge near Kanote village in the Ramnagar area of Udhampur district on Monday morning, officials said.
The accident occurred around 8:30 AM when the bus, on its way from Ramnagar to Katwalt, lost control while navigating a sharp bend on the hilly stretch and rolled down nearly 150 feet into a rocky ravine, he said.
Police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, and local residents immediately rushed to the site and launched a massive rescue operation amidst difficult terrain, officials added.
The death toll rose to 20 by late afternoon, with most of the deceased belonging to remote villages in Ramnagar tehsil, a senior police officer said.
According to a health official at Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Ramnagar, most of the victims died due to severe head trauma and internal bleeding. Several bodies were handed over to family members after post-mortem examinations.
The deceased have been identified as: Tilo Ram (60) of WNo.8 Ramnagar, Prem Nath (22) of Village Birnoo, Kartar Chand (30) of Village Birnoo, Som Raj (45) of Village Sunetar-B, Ram Chand (65) of Village Kirmoo, Gita Devi (45) of Village Amroh, Romal Singh (40) of Village Amroh, Sharda Devi (70) of Village Birnoo, Sunny (42) of Village Kirmoo, Vishali Devi (35) of Village Katwalt, Pushap Raj (50) of Village Sunetar, Ramolo Ram (60) of Village Sunetar, Gulabo Devi (55) of Village Katwalt, Jalam Singh (70) of Village Amroh, Kesar Singh (65) of Village Katwalt, Kanta Devi (50) of Village Birnoo, and Anita Devi (28) of Village Birnoo, officials said.
Injured airlifted to Jammu
At least 32 injured passengers were initially shifted to SDH Ramnagar. However, given the critical condition of several victims, authorities airlifted 12 seriously injured individuals to Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital in Jammu, officials said.
The Block Medical Officer of Ramnagar confirmed that six of the injured are in critical condition and on ventilator support in the intensive care unit in Jammu.
The injured have been identified as: Vishal (43), Kaka Ram (54), Sushi Sharma (26), Rakesh Kumar (45), Arti Devi (53), Raj Kumar (21), Sunita Devi (18), Subash Kumar (19), Vansksha Rani (28), Sheela Devi (20), Meenasha Devi (42), Apeksha Gupta (18), Makhani Devi (40), and Arjun Verma (21), according to the official list provided by the health department.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed deep anguish over the loss of lives and announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh each from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) to the next of kin of the deceased. The injured will be provided Rs 50,000 each, the PMO stated.
“Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest,” PM Modi said in a post on X.
President Droupadi Murmu also conveyed her condolences.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh, who represents the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency, said, “Ramnagar–Udhampur, 21 casualties so far and 61 injured. The injured have been shifted to Udhampur Hospital, while one more seriously injured person is being airlifted to Government Medical College Jammu. My sincere condolences to the bereaved families. All possible assistance is being provided. My office is in constant touch.”
Meanwhile, the office of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced immediate relief for the victims from the CM Relief Fund.
It said, “While no amount of financial assistance can ever make up for the irreparable loss of lives in the tragic Udhampur road accident, as an immediate succour, the Chief Minister has announced immediate relief: ?2 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, ?1 lakh to those seriously injured, and ?25,000 to those with minor injuries.”
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha directed the district administration, police, SDRF, and health department to provide all possible assistance.
Magisterial inquiry ordered
Eyewitnesses alleged that the bus was speeding and the driver lost control while trying to avoid a pothole. “The bus was packed beyond capacity. People were even sitting on the roof,” a local villager said.
Authorities have ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. The driver, who is among the injured, will be questioned once his condition stabilises, officials added.
