Pall of gloom descends on J-K's Mangoota village after 16 killed in road accident

A pall of gloom descended on Mangoota village in Jammu and Kashmir's Doda district as all the 16 people who were killed in Tuesday's road accident were its inhabitants.

An SUV, carrying 17 passengers, skidded off the road and fell into a 700-metre gorge near Marmat, leaving only one survivor whose condition is also stated to be critical.

A police official said all the 16 victims belonged to Mangoota village of Marmat, 10 kms from here, and included five women.

As the news of the accident and subsequent deaths reached the village, the wailing relatives rushed to the local police station to collect the bodies, an official said.

He said the dead included two young couples and their children -- Mohammad Irshad, his wife Jabeena and their two minor sons Naseer Ahmed and Tanveer Ahmed, and Firdous Ahmed, his wife Rabia and their baby.

Tanveera Begum and her two toddlers also died in the accident, while leaving her husband Tamoor Ahmad critically injured, the official said, adding that he was referred to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu after initial treatment at the district hospital.

The other victims were identified as driver Naseer Ahmad, Tabrez, Sameer, Fiaz Ahmed, Ameena and Shaheena, the official added.