20 killed, seven injured in road mishaps in J&K

Twenty people, including eleven pilgrims, were killed and seven others injured in separate road mishaps in Reasi, Doda, Ramban and Anantnag districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

A Tata Sumo carrying devotees of Shahdra Sharief shrine skidded off the road and rolled down into a deep gorge at Dhamni area in Reasi district this afternoon, IGP (Jammu range) Dilbagh Singh said.

11 pilgrims were killed and three children were injured in the mishap, the IGP said, adding that nine bodies have been identified so far.

The injured have been shifted to government medical college here, he said.

Four persons, including three members of a family, were killed and two others seriously injured when a car fell into a gorge at Gorda in Doda district last night, police said.

The mishap occurred when the driver lost control over the vehicle, which was on its way to Doda, and it rolled down into a 500-feet deep gorge, they said.

The deceased were identified as Vipin Lal, his wife Feeno Devi, and their seven-day-old baby and driver Yassir Hamid, they said, adding that the two critically injured have been identified as Namberdar Fakir Chand and Monika Devi.

In the third accident, three persons were killed when their speeding car last night rammed into the rear of a truck at Bijbehara in Anantnag district, they said.

Two persons were injured in the mishap.

The deceased were accompanying a marriage procession which was on its way from Srinagar to Mattan town, they added.

Rakesh Mahajan - who worked with a local newspaper - was killed today when his car rammed into a truck on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, while a motorist died in an accident in Jammu city, they said.