Jammu (PTI): Four persons were killed after a vehicle carrying six people skidded off the road and fell into a river in Kishtwar district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday, police said.

Two persons, including the driver, are missing and a rescue operation is underway, they said.

The accident took place at Sanyas in the Paddar area, when the vehicle, a Camper, skidded off the road and rolled 300-foot down into river Machail, a police official said.

Police launched a rescue operation and recovered the four bodies, he said.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed their grief over the loss of lives due to the accident.

Abdullah said that his office is in constant touch with the district administration, which is making all possible efforts to trace the two individuals still missing.

Udhampur MP and Union minister Jitendra Singh also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

"Saddened to learn just now that 4 of the passengers travelling in the vehicle have been found dead on the spot. Two other persons, including the driver, are not traced as yet. My sincere condolences to the bereaved families," he said in a post on X.

The minister said he contacted Deputy Commissioner, Kishtwar, Rajesh Kumar Shavan immediately after receiving the report about the accident.

"Rescue teams have been put into action. I am regularly receiving the updates," he said.

In a condolence message, Lieutenant Governor Sinha said "pained by the loss of lives due to a tragic road accident in Kishtwar. In this hour of grief, my thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones".