A Tempo Traveller carrying tourists from Sonamarg to Srinagar plunged about 60 feet into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district on Tuesday, November 10, injuring all 18 people on board, including the driver, Kashmir News Trust (KNT) reported. Six of the injured were in critical condition, Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Kangan Rajesh Raina confirmed to KNT.

Source: Kashmir News Trust via AsianNama

The vehicle, bearing registration number DL1VC-5231, was passing near the Gund Sumbal Power House in the Kangan area when it veered off the road and fell into the gorge, KNT reported. The cause of the accident is not yet known; a preliminary assessment cited by KNT suggested overspeeding may have contributed to the vehicle going out of control, but this has not been established.

Source: Kashmir News Trust via JK News Point

What police and doctors said

SDPO Kangan Rajesh Raina told KNT that 18 tourists, including the driver, sustained injuries. The injured were first taken to the Primary Health Centre at Gund and then referred to SKIMS Soura in Srinagar for further treatment, and six of them were critical, he said.

Source: Kashmir News Trust via AsianNama

The IANS wire independently reported the same core figures: 18 tourists injured in the road accident in Ganderbal on Tuesday, with six reportedly in critical condition.

Source: IANS via Hi India

LG Sinha directs best possible treatment

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha posted on X that he had spoken with senior officials, the Director of SKIMS and the Deputy Commissioner of Ganderbal about the accident at Sumbal Bala, Ganderbal. Sinha said eight injured tourists from Gujarat and West Bengal had been referred to SKIMS, and that he had directed officials and the SKIMS Director to ensure the best possible treatment for the injured.

Source: LG Manoj Sinha on X, via Jammu News Portal

What is solid

  • 18 people, including the driver, were injured when the Tempo Traveller fell into a gorge near Gund Sumbal in Ganderbal's Kangan area on Tuesday
  • The injured were taken first to PHC Gund and referred onward to SKIMS Soura, Srinagar
  • Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha spoke to officials and the SKIMS Director and directed the best possible treatment

What is only claimed

  • How many injured were referred to SKIMS and how many are critical: SDPO Kangan and IANS put the critical figure at six and KNT reported all 18 referred, while LG Sinha said eight injured tourists were referred
  • Where the tourists are from: a SKIMS medico told KNT all the victims are residents of Gurdaspur in Punjab, while LG Sinha described the eight referred tourists as being from Gujarat and West Bengal
  • The cause: not established; overspeeding was mentioned only as a preliminary suggestion in KNT's reporting

No deaths had been reported in this accident at the time of publishing. The injured remain under treatment at SKIMS Soura, and the exact cause of the crash is yet to be established.