36 Amarnath Pilgrims Injured After 5 Buses Collide in J&K

At least 36 Amarnath pilgrims, including several children, were injured on Saturday morning when five buses of a convoy headed towards Pahalgam collided near Chanderkote in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ramban district.

The incident occurred as the convoy halted for a breakfast break. A private bus from Madhya Pradesh trailing behind reportedly suffered a brake failure and rammed into the stationary vehicles, setting off a chain collision involving four other buses, according to Ramban Senior Superintendent of Police Kulbir Singh.

Most of the injured pilgrims sustained minor injuries and were treated at the district hospital. "They are eager to resume the yatra, and alternate buses are being arranged. However, three to four pilgrims may not be able to continue due to their injuries," Singh said.

Deputy Commissioner Ramban, Ilyas Khan, visited the hospital to oversee the treatment of the injured.
The convoy was part of the fourth batch of pilgrims undertaking the annual Amarnath Yatra. A total of 6,979 pilgrims, including 5,196 men, 1,427 women, 24 children, 331 sadhus and sadhvis, and one transgender pilgrim, departed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu between 3:30 am and 4:05 am.

Of these, 4,226 pilgrims were en route to the Nunwan base camp along the traditional 48-kilometre Pahalgam route in 161 vehicles, while 2,753 pilgrims were headed to the Baltal base camp via the steeper 14-kilometre route in 151 vehicles.

An investigation into the exact cause of the accident is underway.

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