One General Reserve Engineer Force labourer was killed and five colleagues were injured on Monday when rock and debris tumbled onto a construction crew working on the Sawjian–Gulmarg road near Angan Pathri in Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir, prompting a rescue by GREF, police and local medics amid questions about overlapping machinery work above the site.
How the slide hit the crew
Officials said the incident occurred in the late morning along the hilly stretch in Mandi tehsil where the Border Roads Organisation is pushing a new link toward Gulmarg. Workers told local reporters they were removing shuttering while a private contractor’s excavator operated on a road above the cutting. Boulders and muck suddenly rolled downslope, striking six men in the same pocket of the site.
The victim was identified as Mohd Bashir, 45, from Danna Gagrian village, also reported as Bashir Ahmed, son of Ali Bhat. He died at the scene. Injured labourers named in hospital records included Farooq Ahmed, Manzoor Ahmed, Abdul Majeed, Mohd Ashraf and Sherbaz Ahmed, all from nearby Gagrian-area villages.
Medical response
Rescuers pulled the survivors from the rubble and rushed them to Sub-District Hospital Mandi. Doctors there said three men remained under treatment locally with stable vitals while two were referred to District Hospital Poonch for orthopaedic evaluation. Medical Superintendent Dr Shafiq told reporters both referred patients were being observed and could be sent to Government Medical College Jammu if needed.
Fellow worker Arif Parvez, speaking outside the hospital, said a stone dislodged when machinery worked overhead and appealed for “justice” for men he described as poor daily-wage labourers. GREF officer commanding Ashish Ranjan told NDTV a slide from the upper road hit labourers below during parallel operations, killing one and leaving others trapped until teams cleared debris.
Security and infrastructure context
GREF functions under the Border Roads Organisation, which maintains strategic routes near the Line of Control. The Sawjian–Gulmarg project sits in terrain prone to slips once monsoon moisture lingers and cut slopes are disturbed. Police said they had taken cognizance of the incident; local accounts suggested supervisors may face scrutiny over whether simultaneous excavation and formwork below met safety protocols.
What happens next
Investigators have not announced findings on liability. Work on the road is likely to pause while GREF reviews the slope and contractor coordination. For families in Gagrian, the immediate concern is hospital bills and compensation claims typical after BRO-linked accidents. Officials promised further details as engineering teams assess whether the slide was a one-off failure or a sign that the cutting needs reinforcement before crews return.