36 Amarnath Yatra pilgrims injured after multiple buses of convoy collide in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban
At least 36 Amarnath pilgrims sustained minor injuries on Saturday morning when five buses collided in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district, officials said. The incident occurred around 8 am near Chanderkoot along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The buses were part of a convoy en route from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp to Pahalgam in south Kashmir.
According to officials, the accident was triggered when one of the buses suffered a brake failure, causing it to crash into other vehicles in the convoy.
“The last vehicle in the Pahalgam-bound convoy lost control and hit stationary vehicles at the Chanderkoot langer site. Four vehicles were damaged, and 36 pilgrims suffered minor injuries,” Ramban Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Alyas Khan said.
Injured shifted to hospital, authorities monitoring situation
Government officials already present at the site promptly shifted the injured to Ramban district hospital. Senior police officers later visited the hospital to oversee the situation and instructed the chief medical officer to ensure the best medical care.
The pilgrims were later accommodated in other vehicles to continue their journey, Khan added.
Ramban Medical Superintendent Dr Sudarshan Singh Katoch said that all injured yatris were treated with first aid and discharged shortly after.
Officials confirmed that the convoy resumed its journey once the damaged buses were replaced.
Earlier, the fourth batch of 6,979 pilgrims comprising 5,196 men, 1,427 women, 24 children, 331 sadhus and sadhvis, and one transgender person had departed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in two convoys between 3.30 am and 4.05 am.
While 4,226 pilgrims in 161 vehicles were headed to the Nunwan base camp via the traditional 48-kilometre Pahalgam route, 2,753 pilgrims took the shorter but steeper 14-kilometre Baltal route in 151 vehicles.
