Over 40 passengers injured as an overloaded bus fell into a gorge in Udhampur (Representational image)

Over 40 passengers were injured this morning when an overloaded mini bus rolled down into a gorge in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The accident took place shortly after the vehicle left a village for Udhampur at around 7.30 am, a police official said.

He said the driver of the vehicle lost control while negotiating a curve and overturned before rolling down into a 70-feet gorge.

A rescue operation was launched. 41 injured people were taken to the hospital.

"The vehicle was overloaded and some of the passengers were sitting on its rooftop when the accident occurred," one of the injured passengers, undergoing treatment at district hospital of Udhampur said.

Police have registered a case.