'Truck carrying CSD liquor falls into gorge on Jammu-Srinagar highway, search on for driver'

A truck carrying liquor Tuesday rolled down into a river along Jammu-Srinagar national highway as authorities regulated the traffic to clear heavy vehicles carrying essential commodities to Kashmir valley, officials said.

The ill-fated truck, carrying the Canteen Stores Department liquor, met the accident near Jaiswal bridge in Ramban district when its driver lost control over the vehicle which rolled down into the Chenab river, the officials said.

They said the fate of the driver was not known immediately and a massive rescue operation has been launched to locate him.

Only stranded trucks were allowed Tuesday to move from Jammu to Srinagar on the 270-km highway, the only road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, to overcome the shortage of essential commodities in the Valley due to frequent closure of the road over the past two months owing to intermittent snowfall and rains.

"The traffic movement was disrupted on the highway this morning due to a landslide at Salad near Kharpora between Ramban and Banihal. The traffic on the highway, however, remained mostly unaffected as authorities immediately cleared the highway of the debris and restored the traffic within two hours," a traffic department official said.

He said a decision on the movement of vehicles on the highway would be taken tomorrow after all the stranded Srinagar-bound vehicles cross the Jawahar Tunnel - the gateway to Kashmir besides reviewing the status of the road.