Uttarakhand: 10 people killed as car falls into gorge in Munsiyari

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Ten people on their way to a temple were killed after their car fell into a 600-metre deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Munsiyari on Thursday, an official told news agency PTI.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, in a tweet, expressed grief at the loss of lives in the mishap.

There were 10 people, including the driver, in the Bolero and there are no survivors. All the bodies have been retrieved, Pithoragarh District Disaster Management Officer Bhupendra Singh Mahar told PTI.

The victims included a couple -- Nisha Singh (24) and Ummed Singh (28). The others were identified as Kishan Singh (65), Dharma Singh (69), Kundan Singh (58), Shankar Singh (40), Sundar Singh (37), Khushal Singh (64), Dan Singh and the driver of the vehicle -- Mahesh Singh (40).

Seven of the victims were from Sama village and three from Bhanar village of Kapkot sub division of Bageshwar district, Mahar told PTI.

The pilgrims were on their way to Kokila Devi temple in Hokra, Didihat SDM Anil Kumar Shukla said. The accident occurred around 7.30 am, he said.

Some local residents saw the car falling into the gorge and said heavy rain on Wednesday night led to debris falling down and eating into the road space.

"Heavy rain last night resulted in the accumulation of debris and shrinking of road space. This might have led to the accident," Sundar Singh, a resident of Hokra Village, told PTI.

In another incident, one person was killed and another man was injured when the vehicle carrying them skidded off a road and fell into a gorge in Lower Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh, police told PTI on Thursday.

The accident occurred at a place, 25 km from Likabali town, on the Likabali-Basar-Aalo road on Wednesday, Likabali police station officer in-charge Inspector Bisor Boje told PTI.

The vehicle was on its way to Gensi from Likabali.

Owner of the vehicle, Tumi Doke, died on the spot while the driver identified as Ige Nada was seriously injured, the police officer told PTI.

Nada was rushed to a hospital in Assam's Dibrugarh for better treatment.

Boje said, "The cause of the accident will be known only after recording the statement of the driver."

The vehicle rolled down some 100 metres off the road and could not be recovered due to inclement weather.

The body of the deceased was handed over to the family after post-mortem examination.

Meanwhile, around 21 passengers travelling to Varanasi from the district's Shaktinagar locality were injured when their bus fell into a ditch near Markundi in the Chopan area, police said on Wednesday.

Circle Officer (City) Rahul Pandey told PTI around 1 am on Tuesday, the bus driver lost control over the vehicle and it fell into a 50-feet-deep ditch.

He added a roadways bus following the vehicle informed the police about the accident.

The passengers were rescued by a team led by the Gurma police outpost in-charge and sent to the district hospital, the police said.

There were 35 passengers in the bus. The remaining passengers were sent to their respective destinations by other buses, they added.

(With inputs from PTI)