The unidentified terrorists carried out the attack when the labourers and other staff working on the tunnel project at Gund in Ganderbal had returned to their camp late in the evening, the officials said.
They said the terrorists — believed to be at least two — opened indiscriminate fire on the group of labourers that included both locals and non-locals.
While two labourers died on the spot, three others and the doctor succumbed to their injuries subsequently, the officials said, adding that five people are undergoing treatment for injuries.
Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to track down the attackers, they said.
Top security officials, including Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kashmir, V K Birdi, have reached the spot to assess the situation.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the number of casualties in the attack may go up.
“The casualty figure from the Gagangir attack is not final as there are a number of injured labourers, both local and non-local. Praying that the injured make a full recovery as the more seriously injured are being referred to SKIMS, Srinagar,” he said in a post on X.
Abdullah condemned the attack, which came barely four days after he was sworn in as the chief minister of the Union Territory.
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