Seven passengers, including four women, were killed and three others critically injured after a minibus skidded off a mountainous road and fell into a river in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir today, the police said.

The incident took place on the Thathri-Gandoh road near Piyakul village, 42 km from Doda town, they said.

Superintendent of Police (SP), Bhaderwah, Raj Singh Gouria said the minibus was on its way to Chilli village from Doda when the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a blind curve. As a result, the minibus plunged into the deep gorge.

The bus landed on the Kalnai river bed and its roof was blown away by the impact, another police official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, through the official PMO Twitter account, said he was "anguished by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Doda.

Mr Gouria said rescuers, including police, Army and locals, immediately swung into action and shifted 10 critically injured persons to the hospital, where four of them were declared brought dead and another died of injuries during admission.

Two more critically injured died during treatment at Doda district hospital and Government Medical College (GMC) hospital in Jammu, he added.

The dead have been identified as Yasir Hussain, 26, Shukar Din, 60, Kali Begum, 50, Anju Devi, 28, Sudesha Devi, 40, Kalu Begum, 40, and Prem Chand, 60, the SP said.

Three of the injured are undergoing treatment at GMC, Jammu, he said.