39 Amarnath Yatra pilgrims injured in Ganderbal bus crash

At least 39 pilgrims on the annual Amarnath Yatra were injured on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, when their bus skidded off a mountainous highway in the Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir. The accident occurred near Hariganiwan along the Srinagar-Ladakh highway, a route leading to the Baltal base camp for the revered cave shrine.

According to officials, the bus lost control while negotiating a curve on the steep and winding road, approximately 60 kilometers from Srinagar. The vehicle skidded off the roadway and fell onto a house at Hariganiwan, which was badly damaged but prevented the bus from rolling further into the nearby Sindh River. Fortunately, no one was inside the house at the time of the incident.

A large-scale rescue operation was launched immediately, involving personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Central Reserve Police Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the State Disaster Response Force, Army units, and local volunteers. Working in coordination, the teams evacuated all passengers from the scene. The injured pilgrims, who were returning after visiting the shrine, were initially taken to nearby medical facilities, including the Sub-District Hospital in...