Four dead, 17 hurt after vehicle falls into J&K gorge

JAMMU: Four people died while 17 others were injured after a minibus ferrying wedding guests fell into a deep gorge on Garhi-Narlu road at Thakrakot in Jammu division’s Reasi district late on Thursday.
Reasi SSP Rashmi Wazir said the accident took place around 8.30pm when the vehicle, ferrying wedding guests from Garhi Kund to Pouni, skidded off the road while negotiating a sharp curve and slipped into the 200ft-deep gorge.
While three passengers died at the spot, the fourth victim, a woman, later succumbed at the Reasi district hospital during treatment, police sources said. “The deceased were identified as Jagdish alias Jagu (40), Parkash (45), Shiv Dass (62) and Taro Devi (65),” a source added.
“On receiving information, police immediately launched a rescue operation with the help of locals and shifted the injured to the primary health centre at Arnas, from where some of those wounded were referred to the Reasi district hospital. Later, two of the injured were referred to the Jammu Government Medical College Hospital in view of their grievous injuries,” the SSP said.
Due to darkness and unhospitable terrain at the accident site, the rescue team had a tough time retrieving the bodies of those killed and shifting the injured to hospital.