9 killed as cab skids into gorge on the Srinagar-Leh highway

(Representational Image: iStock)


An Army personnel from Uttar Pradesh was among nine passengers of a cab who were killed when their vehicle rolled into a deep gorge near the Zojila Pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway, official reports said here on Thursday. The mishap occurred in the Ganderbal district of Kashmir late on Wednesday evening.

The cab, on its way to Srinagar from Kargil, skidded off the road at Zojila and rolled down the gorge, reports said. The initial investigation pointed toward the driver who had lost control over the vehicle before it plunged into the gorge.

Police, Army, and locals launched a search-cum-rescue operation and recovered four bodies from the site, and rescued five passengers of the ill-fated cab who were rushed to a nearby hospital where they also succumbed to their injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Poonch-resident Azhar Iqbal (driver), Ankit Dileep , a resident of Gujarat, Gandhi Marmu and his father Mangal Marmu, both residents of Jharkhand, Ranjit Kumar, a resident of Punjab, Muhammad Aslam Parray a resident of Kulgam (Kashmir), Naib Subedar Nanak Chand, a resident of UP, Dileshwar Sidhar, resident of Chattisgarh, and another person identified as Sunil Lal.

Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha directed the district administration of Ganderbal to provide all necessary assistance to victims of the mishap.