At least five killed as vehicle falls into gorge in J&K`s Ramban

Jammu: Five people, including four women, were killed and three others injured on Tuesday when a private passenger vehicle veered off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

The vehicle was carrying mourners who were returning after attending the last rites of Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of J-K Police Ghulam Hassan who along with two junior colleagues was killed in a terrorist attack on the outskirts of Srinagar on Monday evening.

The accident took place on a link road near Chuchaiter village, connecting Rajgarh with Ramban district headquarters on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Masrat-ul-Islam told PTI.

He said the driver lost control as a result of which the vehicle rolled down several hundred feet into Chimotri nallah, resulting in the on-the-spot death of five persons and injuries to three others.

One of the injured was shifted to district hospital Ramban, while two others are undergoing treatment at a nearby health facility, Islam said.

He said the deceased were relatives of ASI Ghulam Hassan and were returning to their Topneel village of Doda district after attending his last rites which were performed with state honours at his Chillai-Bartund village.

The deputy commissioner himself had attended the funeral and rushed to the scene of the accident to monitor the rescue operation, officials said.

They said four of the deceased are women and the identity of the deceased was awaited.

ASI Hassan, constables Shafeeq Ali and Rameez Ahmad of 9th Battalion, Jammu and Kashmir Armed Police, were killed when terrorists attacked their bus in the Zewan area of Panthachowk on the outskirts of Srinagar.