Seventeen pilgrims, including two women, were killed after a bus rolled down a gorge on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway on Sunday.
Twenty-seven others, eight of them minors, were injured. “The condition of two pilgrims is critical,” a senior official told The Hindu .
A police official said the State Road Transport Corporation bus, part of the Amarnath pilgrim convoy, was carrying around 43 passengers when the accident happened near Banihal, 96 km from the Pahalgam base camp.
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The bus, bearing registration number JK02V-0594, rolled down several feet and plunged into a fast-flowing stream.
An official said a chopper was deployed to rescue the injured.
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Preliminary reports suggest that the bus was negotiating a sharp curve at Nachilana when it lost control. “The possible cause is a tyre puncture,” said an official.
The bus was on its way to the cave shrine in the Valley as the yatra entered its 17th day on Sunday.
Locals were able to rescue some pilgrims. Later, the Army, the CRPF and the police joined the rescue efforts.
Governor N.N. Vohra, who heads the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, oversaw the efforts to airlift the injured pilgrims.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced compensation of ₹2 lakh for the next of kin and ₹50,000 for those seriously injured.
Earlier, Mr. Modi expressed pain at the loss of lives. Defence Minister Arun Jaitley condoled the death of the pilgrims. “Saddened by the loss of lives of #Amarnath Yatris in a bus accident in J&K. Deepest condolences to the bereaved families,” Mr. Jaitley tweeted.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti conveyed her sympathy to the bereaved families and asked the Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, “to immediately release an ex gratia amount to the next of kin.”