Skip to main content

At least 29 dead in Kashmir bus accident

  • Story Highlights
  • Bus plunges into Chenab River in India's Kishtwar district, officials say
  • Local authorities unsure of how many passengers were on bus
  • Search continues for survivors, bodies from accident, local official says
By Mukhtar Ahmad
CNN
Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font

SRINAGAR, Kashmir (CNN) -- A passenger bus tumbled into the Chenab River in Indian-administered Kashmir's hilly Kishtwar district Monday morning, killing at least 29 people and injuring nine others, authorities said.

The "search at the spot is continuing for any survivors and dead bodies as we don't know how many passengers were in the bus," K. Rajendra, inspector general of police in the Jammu zone, said.

"Nine injured persons were shifted to Kishtwar hospital, where attending doctors have referred four critically wounded persons to Jammu hospital for specialized treatment," he said. "We are now airlifting them to Jammu."

One person was unaccounted for, according to Haseeb Mughal, area superintendent of police.Video Watch where the bus tumbled into the Chenab River »

The bus was on its way from Kishtwar to the nearby village of Palmar when the driver lost control. The communities are located about 155 miles (250 km) from Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian-administered Kashmir.

advertisement

Accidents in Kishtwar and the neighboring Doda districts are common because of the difficult, hilly terrain and bad road conditions.

Scores of people have lost their lives in road accidents in the area in past two years.

All About Jammu and KashmirIndiaTransportation

  • E-mail
  • Save
  • Print