13 injured in 2 road accidents in Banihal

Banihal, Feb 21: Thirteen persons were injured in two separate road accidents involving passenger cabs along the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway in Banihal area of Ramban district on Saturday, officials said.

In the first incident, five passengers were injured after a Creta cab met with an accident near Railway Chowk Banihal on Saturday morning. The vehicle was travelling from Jammu to Srinagar when the driver reportedly lost control and crashed into a road divider.

Locals and police officials immediately rushed to the scene and shifted the injured to Sub-District Hospital (SDH) Banihal. After receiving first aid, all five were referred to Government Medical College (GMC) Anantnag for specialised treatment.

Police identified the injured as Resha Begum (45), wife of Layeeq Ahmed; Shahnawaz Ahmed (28), son of Layeeq Ahmed; Saima (20), daughter of Mohammad Hassan; Mohammad Saleem (17), son of Zahid Ahmed; and Mohammad Nouman (18), son of Mukhtiyar Ahmed. All are residents of Uttar Pradesh.

In another incident on Saturday evening, eight persons were injured when an Ertiga cab bearing registration number JK-01AW/4650 met with an accident near Sherbibi on Jammu Srinagar national highway. The cab was on its way to Jammu from Srinagar and was carrying seven members of a family from Padshahibag, Srinagar, along with one passenger from Pulwama. The accident occurred after the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle and collided with a truck coming from opposite direction.

Soon after receiving information about the accident Banihal Police, volunteers of NGO Banihal Volunteers, teams from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), and ambulances from Sub-District Hospital Banihal immediately rushed to the spot.

The injured were shifted to SDH Banihal, where doctors provided preliminary treatment before referring them to Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar for advanced medical care.

The injured in the Sherbibi accident were identified as Mahjabeen (40), wife of Mudasir Ahmed; Maymoona (50), wife of Bilal Ahmed; Sonawllah Dar (63), resident of Pulwama; Nazir Ahmed (60); Toiba (11); Farhan (10); Hazib (7); and Mudasir Ahmed (28).

Meanwhile, police have taken cognizance of both incidents and initiated investigations to ascertain the exact causes of the accidents.