Major Crash On Kashmir Highway Devours Two Young Students; ‘Heartbreaking’, Says CM Omar Abdullah

Three students in a speeding Thar stormed into a tipper on the highway killing two of them on the spot while third is critical.

Srinagar: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah described the visuals of the deadly road accident in Kashmir devouring the lives of two young boys as "heartbreaking.”

Two youngsters lost their lives when the speeding Thar vehicle they were travelling on the NH44 Highway in Srinagar collided with a tipper in Batamaloo’s Tengpora.

The deceased were identified as Hamaad Showkat Wani and Azeem Sofi, while the third critically injured was Eisaa Ganie—all residents of Srinagar. The trio were students of a reputed school in Srinagar.

“Heart breaking visuals. This accident claimed precious young lives & has had a devastating impact on their families. My heart goes out to the families of the boys killed in this tragic accident. May Allah grant them place in Jannat (sic),” he posted on X along with a video.

According to the chief minister, the cars get quicker, the roads get better, but the road sense shows no sign of improving. “Speed thrills but it kills with no remorse. Traffic rules are there for a reason, they keep us safe but only if we follow them (sic),” he added.

Video footage, which emerged on social media platforms and went viral, showed the Thar colliding with the tipper, sending a plume of smoke into the air.

It shows two more black-coloured Thars were ahead of the ill-fated vehicle, probably racing with each other. The impact of the collision left the SUV mangled, damaging it completely.

An official said they identified the Thar vehicle ahead with which the ill-fated vehicle was racing. The ill-fated Thar, it was found by officials, belongs to the parents of the injured student who is critically wounded. But the third Thar seen in the video belongs to a nearby workshop and was not part of them.

Many social media users blamed the parents for passing vehicles to children, with traffic police initiating strict action against the violators.

Senior Superintendent of Traffic Police in Srinagar, Muzaffar Shah, told ETV Bharat they have started seizing vehicles driven by minors in Srinagar.

For the past, the J&K Traffic Police has been urging parents to avoid giving vehicles to minors with a parent being slapped with fines to set deterrence.

But from today, Shah said they were taking action against the parents too. Since morning, according to him, they have seized 40 vehicles from minors in Srinagar.

Kashmir is witnessing a surge in road accidents, with 3954 accidents claiming 567 lives across the 20 districts of the union territory from January to August this year. Roughly, this suggests 16 accidents per day or above 480 accidents in a month with more than two lives devoured in a day.

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