7 dead, 17 injured as passenger vehicle falls into gorge in J-K's Doda

Seven people were killed and 17 injured when an overloaded passenger vehicle veered off a hilly road and plunged into a deep gorge in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday, officials said.

The accident took place on the Doda-Bharth road near Ponda, some 30 km from Doda town, when the driver of the tempo traveller lost control while negotiating a blind curve around 9 am, they said.

Mohammad Ashraf (35), Mangta Wani (51), Atta Mohamed (33), Talib Hussain (35) and Rafeeqa Begum (60) were declared brought dead at Government Medical College Hospital, Doda, while five-year-old Uzma Jan and Shakur Din (30) succumbed to their injuries at a hospital in Jammu, the officials said.

Seventeen people were shifted to hospital by rescuers, and the condition of some of them was said to be critical, the officials said.

Locals rushed to the scene soon after and were later joined by police and other security agencies personnel.

"The vehicle, which was on the way to Doda, was overloaded and a cognizance has been taken," Doda Deputy Commissioner Harvinder Singh told reporters.

He assured adequate relief measures as per the rules to the families of the deceased and best possible treatment to the injured.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and Democratic Progressive Azad Party president Ghulam Nabi Azad have condoled the loss of lives in the tragic accident.