On Tuesday, President Droupadi Murmu expressed sorrow over the deaths of six members of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), who perished when the bus they were riding in crashed into a riverbed in Pahalgam.
“The tragic loss of precious lives of ITBP personnel in the unfortunate accident at Anantnag, J&K fills me with sadness. My heartfelt condolences for the bereaved families. I pray for speedy recovery of the injured,” the Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.
A civilian bus carrying 37 ITBP employees and two J-K Police officers was travelling from Chandanwari to Pahalgam when it apparently experienced brake problems and crashed into a steep gorge, injuring 33 people, according to a senior ITBP official.
“Deeply anguished by the bus accident near Chandanwari in which we have lost our brave ITBP personnel. My condolences to the bereaved families and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured. All possible assistance is being provided to the injured personnel,” Lt Governor Sinha said.
Amit Shah, the union home minister, also shared his grief over the unfortunate occurrence and wished for the quick recovery of those hurt.
“Anguished to learn about the accident of a bus carrying ITBP and police personnel in Pahalgam, J&K. My prayers and thoughts are with the bereaved families. The injured were rushed to the hospital. May they recover at the earliest,” he tweeted.
According to Dr. Syed Tariq, a physician at the Government Medical College of Anantnag, 30 individuals were injured in the collision.
“Our six jawans have lost their lives, 30 injured. We will provide the best possible treatment to the injured. ITBP Headquarters is keeping a watch on the situation. The jawans were returning from Amarnath Yatra duty. All help will be provided to affected families, Vivek Kumar Pandey, ITBP PRO said.
The incident happened in the Pahalgam region of Frisland.
For the Amarnath Yatra, the jawans were stationed there.
“We are in touch with the local administration and teams of disaster management have been rushed to the site for a rescue operation,” an ITBP official said.
On June 29, the Amarnath Yatra set out from Jammu under the strict security measures put in place by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the army, and the local police.
The pilgrimage to the Amarnath shrine, a 3,880-meter-high cave temple dedicated to Lord Shiva in the higher Himalayas, is conducted from the twin routes of Pahalgam and Baltal.