11 Gujarati tourists killed in Kashmir road accident

Srinagar, Oct 25 : Eleven tourists, including women and children of three Gujarati families, were killed in a tragic road accident on the mountainous Zojila pass in north Kashmir Ganderbal district Sunday evening, police said.

The tourists were on a pleasure trip to Sonamarg resort and had left Srinagar Sunday morning, a police officer said.

The tourists travelling in a Tata Sumo taxi had gone to Zojila pass near Sonamarg, which connects the Kashmir Valley with Ladakh, when the vehicle fell into a deep gorge near a curve on the pass.

"The vehicle fell several hundred metres into the gorge and so far we have rescued one seven-year-old child in an injured condition," Superintendent of Police Imtiyaz Ahmed told IANS.

"The area is mountainous and difficult to approach. With a great difficulty, we managed to recover bodies of two children who died in the accident. The rescue operation is continuing and efforts are on to recover other bodies," he said.