Three people were killed and another critically injured when a private mini-bus skidded off the road and plunged into a 400-meter gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur district on Thursday, police said.
The accident occurred early morning near Kentha village when the driver of the vehicle lost control, the police official said.
He said the vehicle was on its way to Basantgarh from Ramnagar. Rescuers swung into action after noticing the vehicle.
Three people -- driver Bisher Singh (48), Ravinder Singh (35) and Sanjay Singh (32)-- died, while Rakesh Kumar (25) was rescued and was in a critical condition. He was shifted to a hospital, the official said.
The Udhampur district administration had ordered the suspension of public transport till March 31 on Tuesday as a precautionary measure as part of measures to control the spread of coronavirus.