A driver of Kashmir and 10 tourists , including women and children of three Gujarati families- Thakkars, Voras and Shahs, were killed in a tragic road accident on the mountainous Zojila pass in north Kashmir Ganderbal district today evening, police said.

The tourists from Ahmedabad’s Mithakhali, Sarkhej and Isanpur areas were on a pleasure trip to Sonmarg resort and had left Srinagar today morning in a bus.

The tourists then hired Tata Sumo taxi for sight seen and had gone to Zojila pass near Sonmarg, which connects the Kashmir Valley with Ladakh, when the vehicle fell into a deep gorge near a curve on the pass.

“The vehicle fell several hundred metres into the gorge and so far we have rescued one seven-year-old child (name:Het)in an injured condition,” Superintendent of Police Imtiyaz Ahmed told media.

“The area is mountainous and difficult to approach. With a great difficulty, we managed to recover bodies of two children who died in the accident. The rescue operation is continuing and efforts are on to recover other bodies,” he said.

Acording to primary information available, names of those who are dead are:Sunita Thakkar, Dhiraj Thakkar, Vraj Thakkar, Darshna Vora, Anjali Vora, Rajesh Shah, Asmita Shah, Prakshal Shah and Prakash Shah.