Jammu, Oct. 22 -- Two persons, including a minor girl, were killed and 15 others injured after a passenger bus veered off a hilly road and plunged into a deep gorge in a remote area in Udhampur district on Wednesday, officials said.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah voiced grief over the incident, and assured all necessary assistance to the victims and their families.

The bus was travelling from Pechound to Ramnagar and the accident occurred at Gulli Gala at around 8 am, the officials said, adding the bus was reduced to a mangled heap of iron.

Local village volunteers immediately launched a rescue operation following the accident and shifted 17 injured passengers to nearby Public He...