Bus Carrying Amarnath Pilgrims Skids Off Road, Plunges Into Gorge In Ganderbal; 39 Hurt

At least 39 pilgrims returning from the Amarnath Yatra were injured on Tuesday after their bus lost control on a sharp bend and skidded off the road in the Kangan area of Jammu and Kashmir's Ganderbal district, officials said.

The accident took place near the S-Mode stretch at Hariganiwan in the Gund area, along the mountainous highway that links the Baltal base camp to the rest of the Valley. Officials said the driver of the bus—bearing registration number AR11 D5655—lost control of the wheel while negotiating the curve, causing the vehicle to skid off the road and roll into a gorge below.

The pilgrims onboard were part of a larger group hailing from Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, making their way back from the Baltal base camp after completing the pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine.

Swift Rescue Operation Averts Bigger Tragedy

Word of the crash brought a large multi-agency response within minutes. Teams from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, State Disaster Response Force, Army's 21 Rashtriya Rifles, ITBP, CRPF's 118 Battalion, 2 Assam Rifles, Yatra Police, and local volunteers converged on the site, working together to pull passengers out of the wreckage and get them to safety.

The injured were rushed to the Sub-District Hospital in Kangan, with the more seriously hurt among them later shifted to SKIMS Soura in Srinagar for specialised care. Two pilgrims suffered head injuries, though both were reported stable, and the rest of the injured were also described as being in stable condition.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha checked in on the injured pilgrims' condition.

"Spoke with Deputy Commissioner, Ganderbal, and health officials and inquired about the health condition of Shri Amarnathji Yatra pilgrims injured in the unfortunate road accident earlier this morning at Ganiwan, Ganderbal. 39 pilgrims returning after Darshan of Baba Barfani sustained injuries and are currently undergoing treatment at SKIMS," Sinha wrote on his X handle.

Police have opened an inquiry into what caused the driver to lose control on the curve—a stretch of road already known among locals for its narrow bends and steep drops.

The mishap comes even as the 57-day Amarnath Yatra continues at pace, with the pilgrimage having crossed the 4.26-lakh mark in total darshans since it began on July 3. Batches of pilgrims are still travelling daily to and from the twin base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam, escorted by security convoys along the same highways.

(With inputs from PTI and other sources)

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