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Jammu, March 29
Ten people, including nine migrant workers from Bihar, were killed when an SUV rolled down into a deep gorge in Ramban district of Jammu division early on Friday. The terrain of the area was so rough that rescue teams took around eight hours to retrieve the bodies, closing the operation around 2 pm.
The accident took place at 1.15 am on Friday. The vehicle was going from Jammu to Kashmir on NH-44. The accident took place near the Battery Chashma area on the highway. The reason for the accident is still unknown, but the vehicle rolled all the way down to the bank of a nullah.
Low visibility, heavy rain behind mishap
The SUV slipped accidentally off the road. Drones were used to locate parts of the vehicle and CCTV footage helped to identify the victims, who turned out to be non-locals. It seems the accident took place due to pitch dark and heavy rain.” —Anuj Kumar, Ramban SSP
The deceased have been identified as Inderjeet, Udesh, Vipin, Rajan, Kailash, Sandeep, Raj Kumar, Ram and Hari, all residents of Bihar. The vehicle was being driven by Balwan Singh, a resident of Amb Grota in Jammu.
A police official said information was received that an accident had occurred at 1.15 am, involving an SUV that was on its way from Jammu towards Kashmir. It had rolled down into a deep gorge about 300m from Battery Chashma on NH-44.
Senior officials, including the police, UT Disaster Response Force (DRF) team and civil QRT Ramban, reached the spot and started the rescue operation. Local NGO volunteers also reached the spot. However, due to rain and rough topography of the area, the rescue operation could start only at 6 am, ending at 2 pm.
Ramban SSP Anuj Kumar said the vehicle seemed to have slipped off the road during the rain. “The bodies were identified through their identity cards. Army and other rescue teams played their role in the retrieval of bodies. Drones were used to locate parts of the vehicle and CCTV footage was put to use to identify the victims, who turned out to be non-locals. It seems that the accident took place due to the pitch-dark site and heavy rain,” the SSP added.
Syed Mudasir, a rescuer from an NGO, said the bodies of most of the victims were beyond recognition. He added that it was one of the most difficult rescue operations he took part in in the recent past. “We had to use ropes and hold the hands of our colleagues as it was a steep slope,” Mudasir said.
Earlier, the bodies of only two victims — Balwan Singh and Vipin — had been identified due to the documents on them.
PM Narendra Modi announced an ex-gratia aid of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF for the kin of the deceased.
Lt Governor Manoj Sinha said, “I am deeply shocked to learn of the unfortunate road accident in Ramban today, in which precious lives have been lost. I send my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families. I have issued instructions to the district administration and the Divisional Commissioner to render all assistance to the kin of victims.”
Union Minister Jitendra Singh said he had spoken to Ramban DC Baseer-ul-Haq. “My sincere condolences to the bereaved families,” he said.
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