On Sunday evening, armed terrorists shot at a bus carrying pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district. Sadly, nine people, including a child, were killed, and 33 others were injured.
“Today, some militants attacked a bus carrying Yatris from Ransoo area in Reasi district. The bus driver lost control because of the attack, and the bus fell into a deep gorge near Kanda area of Pouni. As a result, nine people lost their lives, and 33 others were injured,” explained Mohita Sharma, the senior superintendent of police (SSP) in Reasi.
“It’s definitely a terrorist attack. We’ve made the area safe and started searching,” she said.
“We finished rescuing everyone quickly and took the injured to nearby hospitals,” she added.
“We don’t know who the dead and injured are yet, but they might be from Uttar Pradesh,” the SSP said.
The police mentioned that the bus was carrying pilgrims from the Shiv Khori cave shrine to Katra in Reasi district. The attack happened in Teryath village in the Pouni area of Reasi district, close to Rajouri district, around 6:10 pm.
A police statement explained, “The driver got hit and couldn’t control the bus, so it slid into the nearby gorge. With the help of villagers, police got everyone out by 8:10 pm. The Superintendent of Police in Reasi oversaw the rescue. The injured were taken to different hospitals: 13 to the District Headquarter Hospital in Reasi, 5 to CHC Treyath, and 15 to GMC in Jammu.”
A combined security team made up of Police, Army, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has established a temporary base at the site. They’ve started a big operation to find the attackers.
This incident comes just days after a bus from Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras fell into a deep gorge in the Akhnoor area of Jammu on May 30. That accident resulted in 22 pilgrims losing their lives and 69 others getting injured.