JAMMU: A Pahalgam-bound vehicle part of the Amarnath Yatra convoy hit a divider in Udhampur’s Chenani area early Wednesday, leaving the driver injured, even as four passengers escaped unscathed.Preliminary probe suggested the driver may have dozed off at the wheel, leading to the accident around 6.17am. “The injured driver, Shashikant, is a resident of Haryana’s Karnal. He was admitted to Udhampur GMCH with a head injury,” said an official.Meanwhile, the eighth batch of Amarnath yatris — comprising 7,579 pilgrims — set out early Wednesday from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the holy cave shrine nestled in the Himalayas.

Of them, 3,031 pilgrims chose to travel via the Baltal route, while 4548 devotees opted for the traditional Pahalgam route, officials said.Last week, 36 were injured when four buses ferrying Amarnath pilgrims had a chain collision in Ramban’s Chanderkote on the Jammu-Srinagar NH on July 5. On July 3, two yatris were injured inside Tunnel no. 3 of the NH’s Khooni Nala section when their car hit a minibus.This year’s annual Amarnath Yatra commenced on July 3 and will conclude on Aug 9 (Shravan Purnima/Raksha Bandhan).