Two people were killed and two others remain missing after a vehicle skidded off the Mughal Road in Poonch district and plunged into a deep gorge.
The accident occurred on Monday evening when the area was snowbound and traffic movement had been suspended. Several vehicles were stranded along the route due to the road closure.
According to reports, the victims were travelling from Poonch to Srinagar for the treatment of Akbar Hussain, a cancer patient. He was accompanied by two family members, Majid Hussain and Mohammad Basheer, along with a local driver from Surankote, whose identity is yet to be established.
A police official said, “Four individuals travelling in a vehicle were reported missing yesterday while en route on the Mughal Road. Acting promptly on the information, district police Poonch launched a large-scale search and rescue operation.”
He added that during Tuesday’s operation, the missing vehicle was located in a nullah near Chhattapani. “Two bodies were recovered from the site after retrieving the vehicle. Search operations are ongoing to locate the remaining missing persons, and all efforts are being made to trace them at the earliest,” the official said. Police have sought assistance from the Army in the search operation, given the difficult terrain and depth of the gorge. Drones are also being deployed to aid in locating the missing individuals.
