Four killed, 5 injured as vehicle falls into gorge in Kishtwar

State Times News
Jammu: In yet another mishap, four people were killed and five others injured when a vehicle skidded off the road and rolled down into a deep gorge in Kishtwar district on Wednesday, officials said.
The vehicle (JK17 6479), carrying pilgrims from Palmar to the Sarthal temple, fell into the gorge after the driver lost control over it, they said.
Police and locals rushed to the spot and shifted the injured to a district hospital in Kishtwar, where doctors declared four of them brought dead, the officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Samita Devi(18), daughter of Jia Lal, resident of Phagwar Sarthal; Girdari Lal (48), son of Naib Chand, resident of Palmar Kishtwar; Munshi Ram (50), son of Jodh Ram, resident of Jodha Nagar and Sanjay Kumar (20), son of Bhagat Ram of Sarthal.
The injured have been identified as Sanjay Kumar, son of Krishan Lal, resident of Palmar; Akshay Kumar, son of Sujan Kumar, Kishtwar; Tara Chand, son of Manik Chand, resident of Palmar; Kuldeep Kumar, son of Ved Raj, resident of Palmar and Ajeet Kumar, son of Shadi Lal, resident of Trigam, Kishtwar.
Later, critically injured Tara Chand, Kuldeep and Ajeet were airlifted to GMC Jammu for further treatment.
District administration, Kishtwar, provided immediate relief of Rs 10,000 each to the family members of the deceased and 5,000 each to the injured.
This is the second such incident in 24 hours as 16 people, including five women and three children, were killed on Tuesday when a passenger vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge in Doda district.
Meanwhile, Lt. Governor Girish Chandra Murmu has sanctioned ex-gratia of Rs 1 lakh each for the Next of the Kin (NoK) of those who died in a road accident near Khellani on Batote-Kishtwar National Highway.
He has expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of lives in accident.
In a message, he expressed heartfelt condolence to the bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls.
In the Khelani accident, 16 people were killed on Tuesday, as an SUV, carrying 17 passengers, skidded off the road and fell into a 700-metre gorge near Marmat, leaving only one survivor whose condition was also stated to be critical.
The victims belonged to Mangoota village of Marmat, 10 kms from here, and included five women.
The frequent accidents in the Chenab Valley have raised many eyebrows on the regulation of traffic across the Union Territory, especially its remote and rural areas.