MIRPUR (AJK) - At least 18 persons were killed and 37 others injured Monday morning when a passenger bus skidded off a bridge and fell into a deep nullah near Poona area of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The accident came in Bhimbher district, about 40 kilometres from Mirpur divisional headquarters, and 14 of the injured were in serious condition, officials said. "The death toll rose to 18 by Monday afternoon after six of the seriously injured persons expired in Mirpur Divisional Head Quarters Hospital,” Bhimbher Superintendent Police Ghulam Akber Chaudhry told this correspondent Monday evening.
Giving details of the accident, Bhimbher Deputy Commissioner Sardar Adnan Khursheed told The Nation that the ill-fated passenger bus (AJKB-2473) was on way from Mirpur to Samani valley of Bhimbher district when it skidded off the Poona Bridge and fell into the seasonal nullah around 10:30am reportedly due to speeding.
Rescue teams led by Bhimbher DC Sardar Adnan Khursheed and SP Ch Ghulam Akbar reached the scene and supervised the rescue activities. The accident resulted in on the spot death of seven of the passengers. Twelve of seriously wounded persons later succumbed to their injuries in Mirpur Divisional Headquarters Hospital and Tehsil Headquarters Hospital Samani. A total of 23 injured have been admitted in Mirpur hospital.
The identified deceased included Muhammad Azeem, Zareena Bibi, Saeed Agha, Amaad and Mahmood. Five of the dead were yet to be identified, Mirpur hospital sources said. The seriously injured included driver Rafi Ullah, Zahid Hussain, Mumtaz Ali, Pathani Bibi, Muhammad Shafi and Saiqa Mahmood. They belonged to various parts of Samani, Mirpur and other adjoining parts of Mirpur division.