NL Correspondent
Jammu Tawi, Jan 20
A bad omen struck the prestigious Jammu Ropeway Cable Car today when two workers were killed and four others suffered critical injuries on Sunday after the Jammu Gandola-cable car of the under-construction Jammu ropeway project crashed during a mock rescue drill, days before it was likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said.
The crash took place due to some technical snag near the Mahamaya temple this evening, a police official said.
According to preliminary information, one of the cable cars got detached and crashed, resulting in the death of one of the workers on the spot and injuries to five others, he said.
He added that the injured were rushed to Government Medical College and Hospital, where one of them, who was stated to be critical, succumbed to injuries.
All six were aboard the cable car when the crash took place, the police official said.
The executing agency was conducting a mock rescue drill and due to imbalance, one of the trolleys carrying six workers fell down.
One of them, 45-year-old Rakesh Kumar from Bihar, died on the spot.
The rest five — Hari Krishan (45), Manjeet Singh (32) and Lovely of West Bengal, Ravinder (30) of Uttar Pradesh, and Engineer Balkirat Singh (32) of Jammu — were rushed to the Government Medical College hospital where Hari Krishan died later, they said.
Governor, Satya Pal Malik has expressed grief over the loss of precious lives in Jammu Gandola trial run mishap at Mahamaya this evening in which two labourers lost their lives and described the incident as tragic and unfortunate.
The Governor has prayed for eternal peace to the departed souls and sympathised with the bereaved families.
Malik has also ordered a magisterial inquiry into the accident and announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of those killed.
He also directed the divisional administration to provide free medical treatment to the injured, an official spokesman said.
On the instructions of the Governor, Advisor Khurshid Ahmed Ganai and Chief Secretary B V R Subramanyam visited the injured in the hospital late this evening.
The Chief Secretary also visited the accident site and took stock of the situation, the spokesman said.
The Jammu ropeway project, planned to boost tourism in the winter capital, is likely to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 3.
The 1.66-km-long cable car project has two phases, first from Bahu Fort to Mahamaya Park and second from Mahamaya to Peer Kho over the Tawi river, with a total length of 1,118 metres. The people who the accident expressed shock and fear and questioned the workmanship and credibility of the project.
