16 Amarnath pilgrims die, 28 injured in highway accident

At least 16 Amarnath pilgrims, including two women, died and 28 others were injured when a bus they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge in Ramban district on Srinagar-Jammu highway on Sunday, officials said.

The deceased belonged to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Assam, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, they added.

A State Road Transport Corporation bus (JK02Y-0594) was part of 18th batch of Amarnath pilgrims which left from Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu this morning along with convoy of 141 vehicles towards Kashmir.

“As soon as the ill-fated bus having  45 people, including driver and conductor, on board reached near Nachlana, one of its tyres burst following which the driver lost control over it and the vehicle rolled down into 150-foot embankment of Bislari Nullah,” said an official.

Jammu range inspector general of police SDS Jamwal told Greater Kashmir that initial reports have confirmed that “tyre burst” led to the accident.

“A case has been registered and we will look into all aspects of this during investigation,” he said.

A police spokesperson said 28 yatris were moved to sub-district hospital Banihal where from seriously injured pilgrims were airlifted to Government Medical College and Hospital Jammu and Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Srinagar for specialised treatment.



15 deceased identified

Police identified fifteen deceased persons as Pawan Kumar son of Dina Nath Parshad resident of Danapur Patna- Bihar, Rohit Kumar son of Shyam Prashad of Patna- Bihar, Sagar Kumar son of Pardeep Kumar of Janghipath-Bihar, Dileep Kumar son of Dina Nath of Darapur Patna –Bihar, Meena Devi wife of Johar Sahu of Chanakpur –Bihar, Ravinder Singh son of Rajinder Singh of Sherpur Modi Nagar Ghaziabad- Uttar Pradesh, Ravinder Singh son of Raghubir Singh of Indira Puri Ghaziabad- Uttar Pradesh, Sikander son of Pritam of Shahpur, Modinagar Ghaziabad- Uttar Pradesh, Salinder Singh son of Bal Ram of Berubin-Rajasthan, Sashi Paul Sani son of Ganpat Sani of Nawalgarh Rajasthan, Rahul Kumar son of  Dalip Kumar of Gola Pur, Orissa, Rachit Sharma son of  H L Sharma of Hauz Khas, New Delhi and Chander Kumar son of Madan Lal of Purani Nabhi district, Patiala Punjab. Besides the driver Darshan Singh son of Saju Ram of Bishnah, Jammu also lost his life in accident. Police said a body of female pilgrim is still unidentified.

Out of the 28 injured persons 20 were shifted to Government Medical College Jammu while eight were shifted to SKIMS Soura, Srinagar, the spokesman added.

As soon as the news of the accident spread, locals and soldiers launched a massive rescue operation. The locals even pressed into service their private vehicles to ferry injured pilgrims to Banihal hospital, around 13 kms from the accident site.

The Indian Air Force pressed into service its two MI-17 helicopters to airlift the injured pilgrims from Ramban to Jammu and Srinagar hospitals.



8 ADMITTED AT SKIMS

Eight injured Amarnath pilgrims are undergoing treatment at SKIMS. “We are evaluating all of them. While six yatris have minor injuries and are stable, two seem to have serious injuries. They are in an unconscious state,” a doctor told Greater Kashmir late in the evening.

Medical superintendent SKIMS Dr Syed Amin Tabish said at this time, the priority is to carry out all investigations before starting the treatment.

The  pilgrims admitted at SKIMS are Chand Pati Devi wife of Silla Matfi of Denapore Sultanpure, Satish Rawal son of Satpal of Panipat Haryana, Depakar Dass son of late Bipinder Dass of Assam Guwahati, Narish Dudeja son of Om Prakash of Laerual Haryana, Sutvinder Tewari son of Radha Krishan of Gawlior MP, Vijay Kumar son of Sooraj Narayan of Sarfa Bihar, Chetan Mishra son of Rajender Mishra of Fariadabad Haryana and Devi Singh son of Durga Ram of Simla Himachal.

Credit:  greaterkashmir

Kenkey seller, two others escape death

A kenkey seller and her two other workers on Saturday morning escaped death at Krofrom in Kumasi when a truck which carried a forty feet container veered off its lane and crashed their wooden table.
The three, who sustained severe injuries, were sent to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi where they are receiving treatment.
The truck with registration number GR 9447 C, which was on its way from the Suame roundabout to the Oforikrom traffic light, rammed the kenkey seller's wooden structure, dragged it along for some metres before finally stopping and destroying two other metal containers (an electrical shop and a salon) in the process.
Several other wares and properties in the shops were also destroyed.
According to the driver, 54-year-old Appiah Minka, who was at the time Graphic Online visited the scene, seeking refuge at the Krofom Divisional police station for fear of being attacked said the vehicle developed a mechanical fault
He said the brakes failed to work

Credit: Emmanuel Baah

Egypt Hurghada stabbing: Two tourists killed at Red Sea resort

Two tourists, reported to be women, have been killed in stabbings at a hotel in the popular Red Sea resort of Hurghada, Egyptian medical officials say.

At least four other people were injured and a man has been arrested.
The suspect is being questioned by police to determine his motives, the interior ministry said.
The attacker appears to have swum from a nearby public beach to gain access to the resort, officials say.
Three foreign tourists were stabbed at the same resort, renowned for its scuba diving, in January 2016 by two suspected militants from the Islamic State militant group (IS).
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Initial reports said those killed on Friday were Ukrainian, but the Reuters news agency subsequently said they were Germans.
Egypt's security forces are dealing with an Islamist uprising in the country's Sinai Peninsula. The tourist industry has been targeted by militants in North Africa over the past few years.

A Russian passenger plane was brought down by a bomb in the peninsula in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board.
In June 2015 at least 39 people, mostly foreigners, were killed and 36 injured in an attack on a beach in the Tunisian resort town of Sousse.
Credit: BBC