8 killed after mini-bus falls into gorge in Indian-controlled Kashmir

AGENCY: OCT. 28 – At least eight people were killed and many others injured Thursday after a mini-bus carrying them fell into a gorge in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.

The accident took place in the mountainous Sui Gowari area of Doda district, about 235 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.

“Today a mini-bus carrying passengers skidded off the road and fell into a gorge near Sui Gowari area here,” a police officer told Xinhua. “Eight people were killed on the spot and nearly a dozen others injured, some of them critically, in the accident.”

The injured were taken to different hospitals, according to the police.

Reports said locals and police officers rushed to the spot to carry out rescue work after the accident happened.

The police officer said the mini-bus broke into pieces as it rolled down the slope.

The police feared the death toll is likely to increase in the wake of the critical condition of some of the injured.

The cause of the accident was being ascertained.

Deadly road accidents are common in India due to overloading, bad road conditions and reckless driving.

Around 150,000 people are killed every year in around half a million road accidents across India, officials said.

India’s federal minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari recently said the government has set a target to reduce road accident deaths by 50 per cent by 2024.