13 Amarnath pilgrims injured after their vehicle rams into truck near Jammu

Srinagar: Thirteen Amarnath pilgrims were injured when their vehicle rammed into a stationary truck on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway here on Thursday, a police official said.
The pilgrims were part of a convoy carrying a fresh batch of 3,419 pilgrims including 680 women and 201 ‘sadhus’ from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp here to Kashmir to undertake the annual pilgrimage, the official said.

He said the accident occurred near Dherma bridge in Mallard area of Udhampur district, about 70 kms from here, around 5.30 am whenthe driver of the tempolost control and hit the parked truck.

Thirteen pilgrims travelling in the vehicle were injured and admitted to a district hospital in Udhampur, the official said.

He said the condition of three of the injured pilgrims was stated to be “serious” and they are being taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu.

While 10 of the injured pilgrims are residents of Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, three others are from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, the official said.

Amid tight security, the fresh batch of pilgrims had left in a fleet of vehicles from here for the twin base camps of Baltal in Ganderbal and Pahalgam in Anantnag district in the early hours on Thursday to pay obeisance at the 3,880 metre high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas.

Of them, 2,217 pilgrims opted for the traditional 36-km Pahalgam track, while 1,202 others are performing the yatra through the 12-km Baltal route, the official said.