A major accident was prevented by security personnel on Tuesday, after a bus carrying pilgrims of the Amarnath Yatra lost control on National Highway 44 in Ramban district. According to reports, with around 40 pilgrims onboard, the bus was returning to Hoshiarpur in Punjab.
It is reported that the driver failed to stop the vehicle upon reaching Nachlana near Banihal due to brake failure. Ten people, including six men, three women, and one child, were injured in the incident.
According to reports, the brakes of the bus, going from Amarnath to Hoshiarpur, failed, causing panic among the passengers. The pilgrims were from Punjab. Visuals have now emerged on the Internet, showing passengers jumping off the moving bus, in a desperate effort to save themselves. It also showed police cars chasing the bus, trying to stop it. A man is herd saying ‘patthar laga’, asking others to put stones/blocks in front of the tyres to prevent the bus from moving any further.
The brakes of a bus carrying Amarnath pilgrims failed on a slope while returning from Baltal to Hoshiarpur. Some people jumped out of the moving bus. Police and security forces stopped the bus with great effort. 8 people were injured in the incident. The pilgrims were from… pic.twitter.com/Y6mnmHQpPG
— Gagandeep Singh (@Gagan4344) July 2, 2024
“Noticing the pilgrims jumping out of the moving vehicle, the army troops and police personnel acted swiftly and managed to stop the bus from plunging down into the stream by placing stones beneath the tyres of the vehicle,” news agency PTI quoted army officials as saying.
The Quick Reaction Teams of the army, along with ambulances, arrived at the scene and provided medical assistance and first aid to all the injured individuals.
In a separate incident, a van carrying Amarnath pilgrims, was involved in an accident near Chandanwari in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, leaving at least two persons injured on Sunday.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)