4 killed as truck plunges into gorge after being hit by landslide on Jammu-Srinagar highway

Banihal/Jammu, September 12

Four people were killed when their truck plunged into a deep gorge after being hit by a landslide along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway early on Tuesday, police said.

Due to the landslide that hit the highway near Sherbibi in Ramban district at around 5 am, vehicular movement was suspended, they said.

A police official said the truck was headed from Jammu to Srinagar.

A rescue operation was immediately launched by local volunteers and police, officials said, adding all four bodies were retrieved from the mangled remains of the truck.

Officials identified the deceased as truck driver Mohd Afzal Garoo (42), his brother Altaf Garoo (36) of Kulgam, and Irfan Ahmed (33) and his brother Showkat Ahmad (29) of Anantnag.

Six cattle, which were being transported in the truck for domestic use, also perished, they said.

The landslide blocked the highway, and efforts are on to make it traffic-worthy, officials said.