Eight persons were killed and 20 injured when a bus skidded off a bridge and fell into a gorge in Jammu district, officials said Tuesday.

The bus, which was on its way to Katra, met with the accident in Jajjar Kotli area, they said.

The bus was reported to have been carrying pilgrims to the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.

"Eight people have fatal casualties and 20 others are injured. Rescue operation is on," Jammu Senior Superintendent of Police Chandan Kohli told PTI.

Local residents and police rushed to the spot and launched the rescue operation.

The injured were taken to the GMC Hospital in Jammu.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.