Amarnath Yatra: 10 pilgrims injured after jumping out from moving bus in Ramban

22,715 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine

Jammu: At least 10 pilgrims returning from the Amarnath yatra were injured when they jumped out of a moving bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Ramban district after the driver informed them about the failure of its breaks, officials on Tuesday said.
The bus was, however, stopped by the army and police personnel, thus averting a possible accident along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, they said.
The officials said the bus was carrying 40 pilgrims who were returning to Hoshiarpur in Punjab, adding the driver failed to stop the vehicle on reaching Nachlana near Banihal due to failure of its breaks.
At least 10 pilgrims, including three women and a child, were hurt when several of the bus occupants jumped out of the moving bus, the officials said.
Noticing the pilgrims jumping out of the moving vehicle, the army troops and police personnel acted swiftly and managed to stop the bus from plunging down into the stream by placing stones beneath the tyres of the vehicle, they said.
The army’s Quick Reaction Teams along with ambulance reached the scene and provided medical assistance and first aid to all the injured persons, the officials said.
Earlier, More than 22,000 pilgrims paid obeisance at the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in the south Kashmir Himalayas on Tuesday.
With this, the total number of pilgrims who have visited the shrine in the first four days of the annual Amarnath Yatra has crossed 74,000.
"As many as had darshan of the ice lingam in the Amarnath cave on Tuesday," the officials said.
These included 16,973 male pilgrims, 3,775 female pilgrims, 315 sadhus and six sadhvis. More than 1,227 security personnel and 419 children also performed the pilgrimage, they said.
The total number of pilgrims who have visited the cave shrine in the first four days now stands at 74,696, according to the officials.
The Amarnath Yatra began on Saturday from the twin tracks -- the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal.
The 52-day pilgrimage will conclude on August 19.
More than 4.5 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine last year.