Kashmir Impulse Desk

Rajouri, May 5 

Four people, including a father-son duo, were killed after their vehicle skidded off a snow-slicked mountain road and plunged into a gorge along the Mughal Road, officials said on Tuesday.

The accident occurred near Chatta Pani along the Mughal Road, a key route linking the districts of Poonch in Pir Panjal region and Shopian in Kashmir, following unseasonal snowfall that made the surface slippery.

The vehicle, a cab travelling from Poonch towards Kashmir, went missing on Monday afternoon. 

A search operation involving locals, police, civil authorities, and the army was launched on Tuesday after relatives reported losing contact with the occupants.

Rescue teams located the wreckage in a deep gorge late on Tuesday afternoon, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Surankote Farooq Khan said. 

Two bodies were initially recovered, while the remaining two were found during subsequent searches.

Preliminary investigations indicated that four people, including the driver, were on board at the time of the accident, Khan said, ruling out the presence of any additional passenger.

Police said the passengers were members of a family travelling for medical treatment to Srinagar. 

The dead were identified as driver Showkat Hussain of Hari Surankote, Abdul Majeed, and Akbar Hussain and his son Muhammad Bashir, all residents of Mangnar village in Poonch.

Separately, an unusual spell of heavy snowfall in the higher reaches of Rajouri and Poonch districts disrupted normal life in the Pir Panjal region, damaged property and stranded travellers, officials and residents said.

Snowfall during May is rare in the region, which typically experiences warmer weather at this time of year.

The sudden weather change affected nomadic communities on seasonal migration routes, leaving many stranded in harsh conditions. 

Strong winds and precipitation also caused damage to infrastructure in several areas.

The Mughal Road was closed to traffic on Monday due to snow accumulation, with more than 120 vehicles carrying over 300 people stranded for several hours before being rescued by authorities later in the evening.

Farmers in Rajouri said the untimely weather had also hit agricultural activity, particularly the wheat harvest.

“We had harvested the crop and were preparing to process it, but rain, hail, and strong winds have caused damage. We fear further losses,” said Kaviraj Kumar, a local farmer.