11 students out on picnic dead after bus plunges into gorge in J-K’s Poonch

india

Updated: Jun 27, 2019 19:33 IST

Eleven students, that included nine girls, of a private computer training institute were killed while seven others were injured on Thursday in a road accident on Mughal Road in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district.

The students were on an excursion trip from Surankote tehsil in Poonch district to Mughal road.

Poonch deputy commissioner Rahul Yadav said, “Since accident occurred on Shopian side, FIR has been registered there and it is being investigated by the Shopian administration. However, the children hailed from Poonch district. We have not received their dead bodies as yet nor have they been identified as yet. Reports say that 11 of them died in the tragic accident.”

Yadav further said, “Most probably it was a case of over-speeding because the ill-fated vehicle had first crashed into a road divider before plunging into the gorge”.

The children were studying in a private computer institute in Surankote and they hailed from adjoining villages in the area, he added.

He informed that seven of the injured students were referred to Soura medical institute in Srinagar.

Police sources said vehicle carrying the students on an excursion went out of control near Pir Ki Gali and plunged into a deep gorge.

Meanwhile, Governor Satya Pal Malik has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

The Governor has conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved families and prayed for peace to the departed souls.

The Governor has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased.

The Governor further directed the administration to provide best medical treatment to the injured in the accident and wished speedy recovery to them.

The Mughal Road connects Poonch and Rajouri districts of Jammu division with Shopian in South Kashmir. Due to heavy snowfall, the road remains closed during the winter months.