At least 22 passengers were killed and 10 others wounded when a minibus met with a tragic accident on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway this afternoon.

A senior police officer said the bus was on way to Banihal from Ramban town on the highway, when the tragedy struck. "The bus skidded off the road and fell into a deep gorge, killing 22 passengers on the spot while 10 others were wounded," the officer said.

The wounded also included three labourers who were harvesting the cattle fodder when the bus rolled down the slope, and hit them. The authorities pressed army choppers into service to ferry the injured to Jammuhospital for specialised treatment.

The state chief minister, Omar Abdullah has expressed grief over the tragedy and the state government has announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs 1 lakh to the next of kin of those who died in the tragedy and Rs 10,000 for the treatment of the injured.