India: 8 dead, 30 injured as bus falls into deep gorge

At least eight people were killed and around 30 injured when a bus fell into a deep gorge on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway on Tuesday morning.

According to officials, the bus was on its way to Katra from Amritsar when the incident took place near Jhajjar Kotli – about 15 km from Katra in the Jammu district.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jammu, Chandan Kohli, said that the injured were shifted to the hospital.

"The bus was going from Amritsar to Katra, towards Mata Vaishno Devi and rolled down the Jhajjar Kotli bridge. Around eight people died and around 30 were injured. The injured people have been shifted to a hospital," said Chandan Kohli.

He said that paramilitary teams and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) were helping the police in evacuation and rescue operations.

"All other teams – paramilitary teams and SDRF – are helping the police. Locals are helping too so that people can be evacuated and rescued," said the SSP.

Assistant Commandant Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Ashok Choudhary said that a crane was also being brought to check if someone is trapped under the bus.

"CRPF, Police and other teams are also here. Ambulances were called and the injured were immediately rushed to hospital. Bodies have also been taken to the hospital. A crane is being brought here to see if someone is trapped under the bus.

A rescue operation is underway. We are being told that the bus was coming from Amritsar and that people from Bihar were on board. They perhaps lost their way to Katra and reached here," said Choudhary.

Further details are awaited.

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