Jammu: At least 22 people were killed and 57 injured after a bus carrying pilgrims skidded off the road and rolled down into a gorge in Jammu district on Thursday, officials said. There were 12 children among the injured, they added.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha has expressed anguish at the loss of lives in the accident and announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased.
The accident took place at the Tangli Morh in the Choki Chora belt of the district, they said, adding that the bus rolled around 150 feet down into the gorge.
The vehicle was carrying pilgrims from the Kurukshetra area of Haryana to the Shiv Khori area in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district, they added. Earlier, the officials had said the accident had taken place in Rajouri district.
A rescue operation involving police and locals has been launched and the injured have been shifted to the Akhnoor Hospital and Government Medical College (GMC) hospital in Jammu, the officials said.
