Ten People Died in J&K After SUV Falls Into Gorge, Eight of Them from Bihar

An SUV went off the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and crashed into a canyon in the Ramban district on Friday, killing ten people, including eight from Bihar, according to authorities. Around 1.15 am, the Tavera, which was traveling from Srinagar to Jammu, crashed into a 300-foot canyon in the district’s Battery Cheshma region.

They claimed that the driver of the automobile and nine other passengers’ remains had been recovered. Sandeep, one of the passengers, was from Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh, while the driver of the car was Balwan Singh, 47, of Amb Ghrotha in Jammu. According to authorities, the remaining eight residents were from West Champaran in Bihar.

Bipin Mukhiya, Raj Kumar Bin, Hari Bin, Rajan Mukhiya, Avadhesh Bin, Belas Bin, Indrajit Bin, and Raju Kumar were named among them. In spite of the intense local rains, police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) workers worked to remove the remains; they reported that the operation concluded around 1:30 pm.

Prominent dignitaries such as Ramban Senior Superintendent of Police Anuj Kumar, Deputy Commissioner Baseer Ul Haq Choudhary, and Deputy Inspector General of Police in Doda-Kishtwar-Ramban Range Shridhar Patil paid a visit to the location. Authorities said that a formal complaint has been filed under the applicable laws, and an investigation has been started.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X, expressing his sorrow over the disaster and his sympathies to the families who have lost a loved one. The next of kin of each dead person would get an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

President Droupadi Murmu expressed her sympathies to the bereaved families and lamented the deaths in the traffic disaster. It is very tragic to learn that a car in the Ramban section of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway crashed into a canyon, killing many people. I send my sympathies to the families who have lost a loved one,” Murmu said in a Hindi post on X.

Jitendra Singh, a Union Minister and MP from Udhampur, said on X, “My sincere condolences to the bereaved families.” “After learning about the tragic road accident in which a passenger taxi rolled down a deep gorge on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway near Battery Chashma, resulting in the loss of ten lives,” Singh said, he spoke with Ramban Deputy Commissioner Baseer-ul-Haq.

Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha expressed his condolences in a statement, saying, “I am deeply shocked to learn of the unfortunate road accident in Ramban today, in which precious lives have been lost.” I offer the deceased families my sincere sympathies.

Political groups in Kashmir have also expressed their sorrow over the catastrophe; Farooq Abdullah, the president of the National Conference, has urged the government to provide the bereaved families with appropriate comfort and compensation. Omar Abdullah, the vice president of the party, said that the promised four-lane highway has to be finished as soon as possible to allow people to travel with the guarantee of increased safety.

The families of those who passed away also received condolences from PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, Democratic Progressive Azad Party chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad, Apni Party head Altaf Bukhari, Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Lone, and CPI(M) leader M Y Tarigami.