25 killed in Kishtwar District bus accident

Jammu, May 8 : At least twenty-five passengers were killed and three critically injured when a bus fell into the Chenab River in Kishtwar District on Thursday.

The Kishtwar-bound bus skidded off the road and fell into the river at Kandni-Phagumarh area around 12.30 p.m., Deputy Inspector General of Police, Doda-Ramban-Kishtwar range, Himant Lohia said.

He said that 25 bodies had been retrieved and the three critically injured persons had been airlifted to Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu.

According to eye witnesses, there were over 30 passengers travelling in the bus.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is currently on a tour of Karnataka, expressed grief over the mishap and has asked the traffic authorities to take stringent measures to check recurrence of such accidents.

He ordered the divisional administration to immediately rush rescue and relief teams to the site of accident.

ANI