In a tragic incident, about 35 persons got killed and 17 others were injured, when a Matador (minibus), they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge at Thakrie area of Keshwan in Kishtwar district on Monday morning. Three of the injured have been airlifted to Jammu. Another helicopter flew to Kishtwar to airlift more injured. According to reports, A minibus bearing registration number JK17-6787 was on its way from Keshwan to Kishtwar, when driver lost control on the steering while negotiating a sharp curve and vehicle skidded off the road and rolled down about 250 feet and fell into a nullah at Sirgwari Thakrie near Kuryal Pul, about 23 KM from Kishtwar town. After receiving information about the mishap, personnel from the Jammu & Kashmir Police and the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) rushed to the spot along with volunteers from the Red Cross society and a few locals, kickstarting the rescue operation. Later, the Army also joined the process. All the passengers were shifted to the Kishtwar District Hospital, where doctors declared 23 of them as brought dead while 8 more succumbed to their injuries at the hospital later. 4 critically injured passengers were airlifted to Government Medical College (GMC), Jammu for further treatment. Meanwhile, on the call of the Traders Union in Kishtwar, all schools and business establishments closed as a mark of condolence against the ill-fated minibus, which was overloaded. Meanwhile, Ex MLC Naresh Gupta, Ex MLAs Ghulam Mohd Saroori, Sunil Sharma, and Youth Leader Randeep Bhandari expressed their condolence over the loss of precious lives. Thakur Randeep Bhandari, General Secretary DCC Kishtwar, also lashed out at traffic management and on the PWD department over poor condition of the road and prayed for peace to the departed souls
