4 killed after vehicle falls into gorge in Indian-controlled Kashmir

At least four people including driver of the vehicle were killed and three others injured critically Thursday after a vehicle they were traveling in skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said. The road mishap took place at Khardungla Top in Leh district of Ladakh division of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "In a tragic road accident today four passengers including an Indian Administrative Services officer of Madhya Pradesh and his wife were killed and three others were injured at Khardungla Top," said a police spokesman. "The injured include Inspector General Vigilance Madhya Pradesh Ashok Awasti, his wife Manjoori Awasti and Shivindra Singh IAS (PO) Development Project Authority Bhopal." Police said their vehicle rolled down into 100 meter deep gorge at Khardungla road 5602 meters above sea level. The officials had come to Ladakh as tourists to spend vacations. According to officials, the ill-fated vehicle bearing registration number JK10-6773 was on its way to Nobra valley from Leh when it met the accident. The injured according to police are undergoing treatment at district hospital Leh.Officials attributed the cause of accident to heavy morning fog. Deadly road accidents are common in this mountainous region often caused by overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving. Last year at least 1,165 people were killed and 9,755 were injured in 6,709 road accidents in the region.