Kargil: Four tourists died after their vehicle skidded off a road and fell into a deep gorge near Khardungla Pass in Leh on Tuesday.
An official in Leh said that on Tuesday evening, four tourists on their way to Nubra from Leh met with an accident as their vehicle rolled into a more than 150-feet-deep gorge on a slippery road near Khardungla Pass, which is 18,000 feet above the sea level.
The official said that there was fresh snowfall in the area and the road had turned slippery.
After receiving information, a Police party from Nubra reached the spot.
The disaster response team from Leh also arrived there and joined the rescue operation.
While one person had died on the spot, three injured were removed after a tough and long operation but two among them succumbed to the injuries on way to the hospital while the fourth one died in the hospital at Leh.
They were identified as Muhammad Feroz, son of Muhammad Fayaz of New Seelampur, Delhi; Zeeshan Ahmad, son of Toufiq Ahmad of Muradabad, Uttar Pradesh; Reyaz Ahmad, son of Sharief Ahmad of Brahampuri, Delhi, and Azam Khan of Delhi.
Superintendent of Police, Leh, P D Nitya told Greater Kashmir that the accident occurred at Khardungla Pass owing to snowfall which made the conditions slippery.
She said Police teams along with the Disaster Response Force rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation.
She said that the rescue operation had been called off now.
Khardungla Pass, Changla Pass, and other upper reaches of Ladakh besides Leh town received snowfall on Tuesday.
The Traffic Police have advised people to avoid travelling on these roads till improvement in the weather.