Shyam Sood
Rajouri, Mar 31: On Thursday evening in a tragic road mishap in Surankot tehsil in Poonch district, nine members of a marriage party were killed while four critically injured have been brought to Associated Hospital & Government Medical College (AH&GMC) at Rajouri for specialised treatment.
Out of the nine killed, three are residents of Sailan village, 4 residents of Dingla and 2 are resident of Gursai, all villages falls in Mendhar tehsil and were members of a marriage party, which was on its way back from Marha village in the Bafliaz area in Surankot tehsil.
Sources said thirteen passengers (Baratis) were traveling in a Tata Sumo vehicle bearing registration No.JK12-2725.
“When the vehicle reached near Taran Wali village, the driver, reportedly due to bad condition of the road and due to overloading, lost control on the vehicle and it skidded off the road and fell into about 300 feet deep gorge,” said sources.
Local residents, soldiers deployed in the area immediately launched a major rescue operation and were later joined by a team of the police.
As per reports, 7 passengers were killed on the spot, and six critically injured were rescued to the sub-district hospital at Surankot where two more succumbs to injuries.
Four injured were provided immediate medical first aid at Surankot hospital and later were referred to AH&GMC at Rajouri for further specialised treatment” said BMO, Surankot.
He added the bodies of the deceased after medico-legal formalities were also dispatched to their native places.
The deceased have been identified as Ghulam Rubani (55), Mohd Fazal (60), Mushtaq Ahmed (63) all residents of Sailan village; Fazal Ahmed (62), Gulam Galani (55) both residents of Gursai village; Mohd Akbir (62). Abid Kohli (35), Shokat Hussain (45), and Jahangir Ahmed (29), all residents of Dingla.
The injured have been identified as the driver of the vehicle Zaheer Abass (24) r/o Gursai , Anaya Shokat(7) r/o Dingla, Haroon (9) r/o Gursai and Mohd Zabir (40) of Gursai village.
A case under relevant sections of law has been registered at Surankot police station for further investigation into the tragic mishap.
