Preliminary investigations indicate that mechanical failure, driver error, road conditions or a combination of factors may have led to the 10am accident in the Kargot Hills area, where the ghat road winds.The bus rolled down the ravine and onto the road below, crushing a rickshaw and injuring its passengers, officials said. The bus was on its way to Udhampur town from Ramnagar. “It lost control while crossing the hilly terrain,” said DIG (Reasi Range) Shiv Kumar Sharma.An Army convoy stopped after noticing the accident and its personnel led the rescue before J&K police and locals intervened to shift the injured passengers to nearby hospitals. Many were subsequently taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Udhampur town. Some were sent to Jammu.According to officials, 19 passengers died on the spot. “Two critically injured persons succumbed to their injuries at Udhampur District Hospital,” DIG Sharma said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Drupadi Murmu expressed grief. The Prime Minister of India announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 200,000 for each family member of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for each seriously injured passenger. Murthy posted onJ&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also expressed condolences over the deaths and extended the aid. A release from Omar’s office said: “While no amount of assistance can make up for the irreparable loss of life, as emergency assistance, the CM has announced immediate relief of Rs 200,000 for each family member of the deceased, Rs 100,000 for the severely injured, and Rs 25,000 for the lightly injured.”J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha assured all possible assistance, calling the incident “heartbreaking”. “My deepest condolences to the family of the deceased. May God grant them strength,” Sinha posted on “My sincere condolences to the family of the deceased,” Singh posted on X.The hilly forest belts of Udhampur, Doda, Kishtwar and Ramban in Jammu region have witnessed several fatal road accidents over the years due to hazards such as steep gradients, narrow lanes, blind roads, seasonal road deterioration and traffic jams.On January 22 this year, 10 soldiers were killed when their bulletproof military vehicle slid off the road and fell into a 200-foot-deep ravine in Khanni Top area of Doda.On May 31, 2024, 22 Uttar Pradesh pilgrims died when their bus fell into a gorge in Akhnoor, Jammu. On November 15, 2023, a Doda bus fell from a steep slope, killing 38 passengers. On July 1, 2019, an overloaded bus fell into a ravine in Kishtwar, killing 35 people; on May 12, 2015, a similar accident occurred on a bus in Udhampur, killing 24 people.
