Srinagar: At least nine people died and one injured after their vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge at Zojila pass on Wednesday.
The car had skidded off the road and plunged into a 500-600 feet deep gorge at Chini Nallah Mandir More on the Srinagar-Ladakh highway. Police said that ill-fated vehicle was going from Kargil to Sonamarg.
Nine persons, including the driver of the vehicle, died while an injured person has been shifted to Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Science (SKIMS) Srinagar for treatment, the police added.
The injured passenger was identified as Arvind Yadav, son of Dayanand Yadav of Jharkhand.
Soon after the accident, a rescue operation was launched by the Jammu and Kashmir police, Army, Beacon and locals who reached the spot. All the bodies were recovered.
Out of nine the seven deceased were identified as Azhar Iqbal, son of Liyakat Hussain (driver) of Poonch; Ankit Dileep, son of Dileep Kumar of Surat Gujarat; Gandhi Marmu, son of Mangal Marmu and his father Mangal Marmu son of Qadam Marmu of Jharkhand; Ranjit Kumar, son of Rohit Kumar, a resident of Phathankot Punjab; Muhammad Aslam Parray, son of Abdul Rashid Parray of Kulgam; Nanak Chand, son of Bhagvan Chand of Mathura, UP.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, in a tweet said, “Extremely pained by the loss of lives due to a tragic road accident at Chini Nallah, Zojila Pass. My deepest condolences to the bereaved families. The injured recover at the earliest. Directed district administration Ganderbal to provide all necessary assistance.”
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference President Farooq Abdullah and Vice President Omar Abdullah also expressed grief over the death of nine passengers in a tragic road accident.
Farooq said, “My heart goes to all those who have lost their dear ones in the accident.”
In a separate message, Omar Abdullah expressed grief over the loss of lives and prayed for peace to departed souls.