An overcrowded minibus skidded off a road and plunged into a deep gorge in Kishtwar district on Monday, leaving 35 people dead in one of the most accident-prone stretches in the country.

The mishap in Jammu’s Chenab Valley was the second major accident in Jammu and Kashmir in less than a week.

Nine girls were among 11 students who died in an accident in Shopian district on Thursday. The students were travelling from the Pir Panchal region to Shopian district through the Mughal Road when their minibus plunged into a gorge.

On Monday, Kishtwar deputy commissioner Angrez Singh Rana said the bus veered off the road after its driver had negotiated a curve and rolled down a 150-metre gorge, killing 35 people and injuring over a dozen. More than 50 people were on the 27-seater bus.

Ten of the injured, Rana said, were airlifted in two helicopters to Jammu city for treatment. Official sources said they were investigating whether the driver was at fault or some other reason was to blame.

The state’s roads are seen as the deadliest in the country, with around a 1,000 people dying in accidents every year — more than double the lives lost in militancy-related incidents. Jammu’s Chenab Valley and the adjoining Pir Panchal region bear the brunt of these accidents as the roads there are narrow and pass through mountain ranges.

Governor Satya Pal Malik said many drivers were not trained and he had ordered officials to cancel their licences. “Most of the accidents take place due to careless and untrained drivers who drive without any regard for rules and regulations,” a state government spokesperson quoted the governor as saying.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences, saying the accident in Kishtwar was “heart-wrenching”.