Tragic accident claims five lives as vehicle plunges into gorge on Zojila Pass

GANDERBAL — Five local residents of Kargil area were killed after a Xylo vehicle, in which they were travelling, rolled down into a deep gorge on Zojila Pass in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district on Thursday, officials said.

An official told the news agency KNO that a Xylo vehicle bearing registration number JK07-0876 was on its way to Sonamarg from Kargil when it skidded off the road and fell into a gorge on Zojila Pass, in which five residents of Kargil died.

The deceased have been identified as Ab Hadi Balti, Mohd Amin Balti, Shabir Hussain, Mohd Hussain and Mohd Akbar—all residents of Kargil.

Pertinently, this is the second such incident in the last four days as four tourists from Kerala and a local driver were killed at the same spot after their vehicle fell into a deep gorge at Zojila Pass on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Sheikh Khalid Jehangir has appealed to the administration to close the road till the weather conditions improve. “Tragic !! It’s a death trap due to slippery conditions. To avoid casualties request @OfficeOfLGJandK to close down the road till weather permits,” Jehangir wrote on X.