Four passengers including a soldier were killed and 44 others injured after a private bus skidded off the road and plunged into a deep gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Poonch district on Tuesday, officials said.

The bus was on its way to Mendhar from Ghani village when its driver lost control around 9.20 am and the vehicle rolled down into the gorge. Locals immediately launched a rescue operation and were joined by police, army and CRPF personnel.