24 feared dead as bus plunges into Chenab River in J-K

Srinagar, June 7 (ANI): At least 24 passengers were feared dead on Sunday morning after a bus carrying them plunged into a swollen Chenab River after skidding off the road in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district.

The incident reportedly took place, 180 kilometres from Jammu, after the driver of the 26-seater bus, carrying over 30 passengers, lost control of his vehicle.

"Five people who jumped out of the bus in time, when it started veering off the road, survived with minor injuries,' a police spokesman said.

Police said chances of survival of the missing passengers were "remote".

The missing passengers could be drowned, but no dead body was recovered as the "current of water in the river is very fast and it is swollen also", a police officer said.

According to the District police chief Prabhat Singh, the bus, with a capacity of 26 people, rolled down 500 feet from the highway into the swollen Chenab River in the morning.

"We have no idea about the casualty as yet. But there is very remote chance of anyone's survival. The bus is completely submerged and we cannot see it. The Indian Army has been pressed into rescue service, but the rapid current and deep water are hampering the operation," Singh told media persons here. (ANI)