5 members of family among 8 killed in Kashmir highway accident

Srinagar, Dec 12 (UNI) Five members of a family were among eight people killed when a jeep skidded off the road and fell into a 250-metre-deep gorge on the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu national highway this morning.

Official sources said the vehicle on way to Jammu from Srinagar plunged into the gorge after its driver failed to negotiate a turn near Penthal in the Ramban area.

They said eight people, including an employee of State Motor Garages Mohammad Azad Bhat, his wife, Shamima, and other three members of his family were killed.

The sources said the exact number of passengers travelling in the vehicle was not immediately known.

The vehicle was among hundreds that left for Jammu today, seven days after the highway remained closed following landslides and shooting stones.

Rescue teams, rushed from different nearby areas, had started the operation. However, only four bodies had been recovered so far, they said.

Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad expressed deep shock over the incident and offered his sympathies to the bereaved families.

Mr Azad directed the authorities to take every measure to send the dead bodies to their respective homes.

People Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti also expressed shock over the loss of lives in the accident.

Meanwhile, State Motor Garages Employees convened a condolence meeting at Jammu to mourn the death of its employee and his four family members and others.

UNI BAS HS RN1815