Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Oct 1
At least 33 passengers, mostly tourists from West Bengal, were injured when a sleeper bus overturned on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, officials said.
Nine of the injured were referred to Government Medical College (GMC) in Jammu for specialised treatment, while the remaining passengers were being treated at the district hospital in Ramban, they said.
The bus, registered in West Bengal as WB39K-2929, was travelling from Srinagar to Jammu when it overturned in the Jammu-bound tunnel at Marog, officials said. The vehicle, which had a seating capacity of 58, was carrying 55 passengers, most of them tourists from West Bengal.
Police and rescue teams reached the scene after receiving information about the accident and evacuated the injured to District Hospital Ramban.
Hospital authorities said the injured included 29 men and four women, aged between eight and 71. Most were from West Bengal, while one passenger was from Nepal.
Those referred to GMC Jammu were identified as Raj Kumar, 36; Shabana Bibi, 28; Sultan Khan, 8; Inna, 11; Shadat Khan, 14; Alamgeer, 62; Manju Sheikh, 66; Alam Gir Khan, 52, all from West Bengal; and Shanker, 50, from Nepal.
The other injured passengers, who were treated at District Hospital Ramban, included Sultan Sohil, 13; Lakubudin Sheikh, 63; MD Rajeksa, 34; Tanua Bibi, 34; Kabir Sheikh, 34; Mohobat Sheikh, 41; Afzal Sheikh, 35; Tumpa Bibi, 35; Jameen Malik, 44; Siraj Sheikh, 55; Muhammad Mohiuddin, 33; Hukum Sheikh, 55; Plash, 48; Ilyas Sheikh, 39; Santosh Mandol, 55; Mirah Khan, 48; Abdul Samad, 71; Gulam Mustafa, 46; Muhaan Khatim, 8; Shakir Sheikh, 41; Meena Bibi, 50; Firdous Sheikh, 38; Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, 32; and Sadam Hussain, 50. All were residents of West Bengal, officials said.
Doctors were monitoring the condition of those admitted to the district hospital.
Senior police and civil administration officials, including Senior Superintendent of Police Traffic National Highway Raja Adil Hameed, Additional Superintendent of Police Ramban Mujeeb Ur Rehman and Assistant Commissioner Revenue Ramban Shokat Hayat Mattoo, monitored the rescue and evacuation operation.
Traffic on the Jammu-bound side of the highway was disrupted temporarily during the rescue operation. The damaged bus was later moved aside to allow traffic to resume.
The cause of the accident was not immediately known.
