Five dead as minibus packed with passengers plunges into gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar

KISHTWAR: At least five persons were killed on Friday when a minibus packed with passengers skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir, a police official said.

The accident occurred at Dandaran, near Thakrai, when the driver of the minibus, which was on its way to Kishtwar from the Keshwan area, lost control of it and the vehicle plunged into the over-300-foot gorge, near the Chenab riverbed, this morning, the official said.

He said a rescue operation was launched immediately and so far, five bodies were pulled out from the mangled vehicle.

It is believed that the minibus was carrying over 30 passengers when the accident occurred, the official said.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kishtwar, Rajinder Gupta, who is leading the rescue operation, said the casualty figure might go up.

This is the third major accident in Kishtwar district in the last one month.

While 13 Machail Yatra devotees were killed when their cab plunged into a gorge on August 21, seven persons were killed and 12 others injured when two vehicles were hit by boulders a day earlier.