Pall of gloom descends native villages
Kin, Mehbooba urge govt to bring bodies home
Jammu, Apr 09: Five persons hailing from Poonch and Rajouri districts were killed and another injured after two vehicles collided and caught fire in Kuwait on Wednesday.
Family members of the victims told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the accident occurred when the vehicles crashed and one of them caught fire, with flames quickly spreading and trapping the occupants,
Four of the deceased were residents of the Surankote area in Poonch district, while one hailed from Thanamandi in Rajouri district.
They have been identified as Fareed Ahmed, Sarfaraz Ahmad, Mohammad Khalid and Mukhtar Ahmad, all from Poonch, and another individual from Rajouri, officials said.
The injured person was shifted to a nearby hospital and is undergoing treatment, they added.
According to locals, all the victims were working in Kuwait.
A pall of gloom descended over their native villages as soon as the news reached there. The incident has triggered grief and sent the entire area into mourning with neighbours offering condolences to the bereaved family.
Authorities in Kuwait have initiated an investigation into the accident, officials said.
Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti appealed to the Government of India to facilitate the return of the mortal remains of the deceased to their homes.
The family members of the deceased victims have also appealed to the LG administration and the Ministry of External Affairs to facilitate the return of the deceased bodies to their home. (KNO)
