14 killed, 30 injured as vehicle falls into gorge

Udhampur, Oct 20: At least 14 persons were killed and 30 others injured, 10 of them seriously, when a vehicle fell into a deep gorge in the Ramnagar area of the district, early on Tuesday morning.

The heavily overcrowded matador was on its way from Ghordi to Ramnagar with mostly college students and government employees, when it fell into a deep gorge near Dalsar area of the Ramnagar Tehsil, a police officer said today.

He said that 14 people including eight males, five females and one child died on the spot, whereas 30 others received injuries out of which the condition of 10 was reported to be serious.

"Rescue work is still going on and it is taking time as the accident has taken place in a remote area where there is lack of transportation", he said.

The district administration fears that the number of casualties might increase. "14 deaths have been reported so far, but we fear more as some persons are still trapped and rescue operation is still going on", Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Deputy Commissioner Udhampur said.

Meanwhile, the injured are being shifted to district hospital Udhampur from where the seriously injured have been referred to the Government Medical College (GMC) and Hospital Jammu.

PTI