Five personnel of Military Engineering Service (MES) were killed when their vehicle skid off the road and fell into an 1,100-feet deep gorge in Leh district on Tuesday, officials said.
The MES personnel were on an inspection trip of Khardungla pass, the highest motorable road in the world at the height of 18,360 feet, when their car skid off the road due to slippery conditions caused by sub-zero temperatures, the officials said.
All the five persons in the car, including the driver, were killed, they said.
The deceased have been identified as Ajay Samiyal (from Kerala), T. Nurender Gopal (Andra Pradesh), J. Brillian Joseph and A. Joseph Raj (both from Tamil Naidu) and driver Tundup Namgyal of Kargil.
The bodies were taken to Sonam Narboo Memorial Hospital in Leh for postmortem, police said.
