Kashmir Accident: 21 killed as minibus plunges into ditch

SRINAGAR: At least 21 people were killed and over a dozen more injured on Saturday when an overcrowded minibus plunged into a gorge in Indian administered Kashmir, police said. The accident took place in southern Poonch district, a police spokesman said, adding that 15 injured passengers were in a critical condition. “So far we have 21 confirmed deaths,” the spokesman said, adding that t was feared the toll would rise. The speeding bus rolled down into a gorge while negotiating a sharp curve in the mountains of Poonch, police said. “The seriously injured people have been shifted to (winter capital) Jammu,” the spokesman said. Senior police and civil officials of the district are supervising relief and rescue operations.



Published in The Express Tribune, August 21^st, 2011.