The mini bus was crossing a muddy patch when it came under debris and rocks.
The mini bus was crossing a muddy patch when it came under debris and rocks.
Five passengers, including three women, were killed and nine others injured when their minibus came under a landslide at a slide-prone stretch of road in J&K's Doda district on Wednesday.

The bus was travelling from Thathri to Gandoh and crossing a muddy stretch when it was hit by a sudden landslide at Piyakul on Thathri-Kilhotraan road. The debris and boulders came crashing in, resulting in the death of five passengers and injuring nine, said SDPO Gandoh Bhallesa Nawaz Khanday.


"Residents and police rescued the passengers and rushed them to a primary health care centre in Kahara, from where six injured were shifted to the Thathri Trauma Hospital," said a source. While three died on the spot, two more succumbed during treatment, said cops.

Taking cognizance of the matter, Doda deputy commissioner suspended M K Vikram, the executive engineer PWD (R&B) special sub-division, Gandoh, for not adapting necessary preventive measures in the landslide-prone area. He also appointed Assistant Commissioner Revenue (ACR) Doda as inquiry officer to conduct the inquiry into the matter and submit a report at the earliest.