Amarnath Yatra: 36 injured in bus collision in J&K
What's the story
At least 36 pilgrims were injured on Saturday morning when five buses of an Amarnath Yatra convoy collided near Chanderkoot in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district. The accident took place around 8:00am on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, officials said. Preliminary investigations suggest that brake failure in one of the buses caused it to crash into other busses parked at a breakfast stop.
Medical response
All the injured treated on-site
The injured pilgrims were rushed to the District Hospital Ramban for immediate medical treatment. Dr Mohammed Rafi, In-charge Medical Superintendent of the hospital, confirmed that all 36 injured patients were treated on-site and none needed to be referred elsewhere. "We received a total of 36 injured patients. All have been treated here, and we did not need to refer anyone to another hospital," Dr. Rafi said.
Convoy details
Injured part of batch of 6,979 devotees
The injured were part of the fourth batch of Amarnath Yatra pilgrims, which comprised 6,979 devotees. This included 5,196 men, 1,427 women, 24 children, 331 sadhus and sadhvis, and one transgender pilgrim. The group had left Bhagwati Nagar between 3:30am and 4:05am in two separate convoys for Pahalgam base camp.
Post-accident update
Incident did not affect pilgrimage schedule
Despite the accident, the injured pilgrims were discharged after first aid and shifted to other vehicles for their onward journey. The damaged busses were also replaced promptly. "The Yatris were later shifted to other vehicles for their onward journey," Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Alyas Khan said. The incident did not cause any major disruption to the pilgrimage schedule or affect other travelers on the highway.