Awantipora: Four migrant workers died while 34 sustained injuries in an accident in Awantipora area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Saturday.
The deceased were identified as Saleem, son of Allawudin, Raj Kumar, son of Shiv Das, Kaisar Alam, son of Mazharul Haq, and Naseer-ud-Din, son of Aslam Ansari, all residents of Bihar.
The accident occurred at Gooripora village, 5 km from Awanitpora town when a bus, carrying non-local workers to Srinagar from Jammu, overturned possibly after slamming into a divider, leaving four persons dead and injuring 34 others.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, Block Medical Officer (BMO) Pampore, Asma Nazir said, “Four persons were brought dead at Sub District Hospital (SDH) Pampore while 34 others had sustained injuries. Some of the injured were to sent to Srinagar, given the grave nature of their injuries.”
Another official said that 11 injured were sent to SMHS Hospital, 10 to Bone and Joint Hospital, and three to SKIMS, Soura while the rest were managed at a local facility.
Expressing his anguish over the incident, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha tweeted:
“I am deeply anguished by the unfortunate bus accident in Awantipora today in which precious lives have been lost and many others have been injured. I have issued instructions to the district administration to provide all necessary assistance to the affected persons.”
Videos of the accident circulated online showed the injured lying in the middle of the road and crying in excruciating pain while their luggage lay strewn across the road.
Locals and security forces immediately rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation.
“They helped shift us to hospital,” said an injured person.