A lorry carrying members of a langar group helping Amarnath pilgrims skidded off a mountain road and fell into a deep gorge in Kashmir’s Samba district overnight, killing 16 and injuring 18 others, the police said Friday.
This is second such mishap in the past fortnight. Earlier, on July 14, 15 people were killed when a bus returning from the pilgrimage plunged into a gorge near Ramban, also on a mountain road, Over 100 pilgrims have died in the 39-day pilgrimage so far, most suffering cardiac arrest while trekking to the 12,729-foot-high cave shrine.
Preliminary police investigations indicate the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a deep curve at Zamoorha Morh, after which the truck rolled down several feet deep into the gorge.