Jammu:At least nine pilgrims were killed, and 33 others injured after a bus carrying them plunged into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district on Sunday following a suspected terror attack on it, officials said.
In the wake of the incident, a team of security forces on Monday launched a massive cordon and search operation to track down terrorists responsible for the attack on a passenger bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district that left nine people dead, officials said.
Among the victims are four natives of Rajasthan, including a two-year-old boy, and three from Uttar Pradesh. Ten people with gunshot wounds are among the 41 pilgrims, mostly from Uttar Pradesh, undergoing treatment in three hospitals of Jammu and Reasi districts, officials said.
The bus carrying pilgrims, enroute from Shiv Khori temple to Katra, veered off the road following the gunfire and fell into a deep gorge. The incident took place around 6.15 pm near Teryath village in Poni area.
"Terrorists opened fire at a bus carrying pilgrims, nine people have been killed and 33 injured," PTI reported quoting SSP Reasi Mohita Sharma. "An unfortunate incident occurred and as per the initial reports, the terrorists had laid an ambush and opened fire on the bus which had left Shiv Khori for Katra. The driver lost balance and the vehicle fell into the gorge," Senior Superintendent of Police, Reasi, Mohita Sharma told reporters at the scene.
"The rescue operation was completed and so far nine persons are dead and 33 others injured in the incident and they have been shifted to different hospitals. The identity of the deceased is not clear yet but preliminary reports suggest that they all belong to Uttar Pradesh," the officer said.
Eyewitnesses shared harrowing accounts of the attack, with one survivor describing how the bus was barraged with 25 to 30 shots before it plunged down the gorge. Another witness recalled seeing a masked assailant in a red muffler firing on the bus. The injured pilgrims were rushed to Teryath Hospital for treatment. "We were supposed to leave at 4 pm but the bus left around 5.30 pm and suddenly came under fire," an injured pilgrim from Banaras, admitted to Teryath hospital said.
Jammu and Kashmir police spokesperson said in a statement that a bus carrying yatris from Shiv Khori to Katra was targeted "apparently by terrorists using firearms" at about 6.10 PM in the Pouni area of Reasi district bordering Rajouri district. The driver was hit and lost control, resulting in the bus sliding into the nearby gorge.