4 killed, 2 missing in road accident in Ganderbal, LG expresses grief

STATE TIMES NEWS

Srinagar: Four persons died while two others were missing after a passenger vehicle rolled down into Nallah Sindh in the Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, an official said here.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has expressed grief over the loss of lives in a road accident in Sonamarg.
In a condolence message, the Lt Governor said:
“I am deeply saddened to learn about the loss of precious lives in an unfortunate road accident in Sonamarg, Ganderbal today. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with the bereaved families. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. I have issued instructions to the District Administration to render all necessary assistance, as provided in rule, to the affected persons”.
The official said, a passenger vehicle with nine persons on board skidded off the road and fell into the fast-moving stream at Gagangir in Sonamarg area of Ganderbal.
He said a rescue operation was launched by the SDRF and police.
“Three persons were rescued and shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the official said and added that four bodies have been retrieved while search is on for the remaining two persons.
Quoting an official, a Srinagar based news agency reported that soon after receiving information about the tragic incident, a wide scale rescue operation was jointly launched by Police, Army’s 34 Assam Rifles, Traffic Rural Police, Civil administration, locals, SDRF and NDRF, which yielded retrieval of four bodies.
“All the persons boarding the vehicle except for the driver were tourists,” the official said, adding, “except for him (driver) no one other person has been rescued safely up to now.” “Due to ongoing heavy rains in the area, the operation has been called off till tomorrow,” the official added. More details awaited.