Jammu, Sep 14 (IANS): Seven people, including a policeman, died late Sunday when the vehicle they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district.

"A Tata Sumo vehicle skidded off the road when its driver lost control near Jammu province's Paddar Gulabgarh village," a police officer told IANS here.

"Police and locals rushed to the accident spot and started rescue operations, and all the seven seriously injured travellers were taken to hospital, where doctors said they had died before reaching the hospital."

All the seven dead passengers hailed from Paddar area.

Police has registered a case and bodies of the dead will be handed over to their family members for the last rites after completing legal formalities on Monday, the official said.

The mountainous districts of Kishtwar and Doda have been in the news in the past as well for fatal accidents mostly due to bad roads and rash driving.