5 killed in Ganderbal as cab falls from mountain highway

Srinagar, Dec 7 (PTI) A cab taking a group of persons from Srinagar to Kargil fell from a mountain highway in the Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, killing five persons, officials said.

The accident took place in the Sonamarg area where the passenger cab skidded off the mountainous Zojila Pass road on the Srinagar-Leh highway due to slippery road conditions caused by recent snowfall, the officials said.

They said five persons on board the vehicle died in the accident.

All the victims hailed from Kargil and were identified as Mohammad Hussain, Shabir Hussain, Mohammad Akbar, Mohammad Amin and Abdul Hadi, they added.

This is the second major accident along the Zojila Pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway in three days.

Five persons, including four tourists from Kerala, died while three others were injured in a similar accident on Tuesday.