Officials stated 10 Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrims, the majority of whom were from Bihar, were killed and 57 others were injured after their bus crashed into a gorge after crashing into the railing of a bridge on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

The death toll may rise, according to Government Medical College Hospital Principal Shashi Soodan, who stated that two of the injured admitted there are in critical condition.

According to officials, the bus, which was travelling from Amritsar to Katra, was involved in an accident in the Jhajjar Kotli area. Katra serves as a base camp for pilgrims visiting the well-known shrine atop the Trikuta hills.

“The accident took place at Jhajjar Kotli bridge. Ten people have died. Rescue operation is almost compete,” Jammu Senior Superintendent of Police Chandan Kohli told the media. “We are investigating the reasons behind the accident.”

Local residents, CRPF, and police officers rushed to the scene and began the rescue operation.

The fifty-seven injured have been admitted to Jammu’s GMC hospital, with two of them in critical condition. “Two people were brought to the hospital dead, while others died on the spot,” said Soodan, the principal.

According to a CRPF officer, ten bodies have been recovered.

The bus skidded off the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and rolled down the bridge over a nallah at Jajjar Kotli between 6.30 and 7 am, the officials said.

They said most of the travellers were from Bihar’s Lakhisarai and were on pilgrimage to Mata Vaishno Devi for a religious function of their child. They were members of an extended family.

Ravinder Panday, one of the travellers, said they felt that something hit the bus. “It lost balance and rolled down. The vehicle was on its way from Amritsar to Katra carrying people who were going for pilgrimage to the cave shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi,” he said.

The accident site looked horrific with bodies trapped under the mangled remains of the bus.

Describing the accident, a witnesses said the bus was in the left lane, but it crossed over to the right side after the driver lost control, hit the railing of the bridge went down.
The front wheels came off and got stuck in the parapet of the bridge.

“We were hoing to pay obeisance to Mata Vaishno Devi temple and perform Mundan of our child. We were serval families together,” said Ramesh Kumar, who escaped unhurt.

The vehicle, registered in Uttar Pradesh (UP 81 CT 3537), should have taken a left turn nearly two kilometres before the accident site, but passengers said the driver appeared to have lost direction and was probably heading to the Udhampur-Srinagar side of the highway.

A 27-year-old woman was killed and 24 people were injured on May 21 when a Rajasthan-bound bus carrying Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrims overturned in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district.

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