10 killed, 14 injured in Kargil truck accident

KARGIL, Sept 21: Ten labourers were killed and 14 others sustained injuries, four of them critically, when a truck carrying them skidded off the road and plunged into 200 feet deep gorge near Namkila on Leh-Kargil road under the jurisdiction of Wagan Police Post early this morning.
The ill-fated vehicle bearing registration number JK02G-4645 was on its way from Leh to Srinagar when near Namkila the vehicle plunged into a deep gorge killing 10 labourers on the spot and wounding 14 others including conductor and owner of the truck.
On the recept of information about the accident, a police party from Wagan Police Post rushed to the spot and started rescue operation with the help of local people. SSP Kargil Gareeb Dass rushed to the spot and supervised relief and rescue operation.
It took about four hours to the rescue teams to bring out the injured labourers as well as dead bodies from the gorge. All the injured were rushed to local hospital and 10 of them were, later, shifted to District Hospital Kargil for specialised treatment.
The condition of four of them was stated to be critical when reports last came in.
The deceased have been identified as Methi Ram (driver of the vehicle), a resident of Nanak Nagar Jammu, Ram Lal Rai, son of Jagdev Rai, Mehtu Nissar, Mukesh, Janardhan Kumar, Harinder Madho, Nand Lal, Virender Ram, Hari Har and Piju Bhagwan, all the residents of Bihar.
Of the 14 injured, 10 have been identified as Mohd Ramzan of Doda, Ravinder Kumar of Bihar, Amar Chand of Kishtwar, Hilal Ahmed of Sopore, Mishri Ram, Shrawan Kumar, Manoj Kumar, all the residents of Bihar, owner of the truck Gurcharan Singh, son of Lekh Singh of Jammu and Riaz Ahmed of Doda.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed shock over the tragic road accident near Namkila on Kargil- Leh road.
The Chief Minister expressed sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls.
He issued instructions to the health authorities for providing best possible medicare to the injured for their speedy recovery.