As many as 15 people were killed after a landslide forced a passenger coach to plunge into a deep ravine on Gilgit Road near Tungus, on Sunday.

The ill-fate passenger van was travelling from Rawalpindi to Skardu when the incident took place in wee hours of Sunday, SSP Skardu Ishaq Hussain told reporters.

Rescue and security personnel rushed to the scene and launched a relief operation to move the rubble and retrieve passengers from the van trapped under the debris.

The incident took place at 3:00 AM. The machinery to remove boulders has reached to the spot but no one yet retrieved from the debris.

According a news report, the bodies and injured people were being shifted to nearby hospital for medical assistance.

Six victims have been identified, including the driver and conductor. Their bodies have been taken to the District Hospital.