Uttarakhand: Vehicle carrying 12 falls in 500-mtr-deep gorge in Chamoli, all dead
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has expressed grief over the accident, and announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased
Twelve people were killed after the vehicle they were travelling in fell into a 500-700 metre deep gorge in Palla Jakhol village on Dumak road in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, the state disaster response force (SDRF) said on Friday.
The deceased included two women and 10 men.
“The car, which is said to be a Tata Sumo, was carrying 12 people. All are dead. We have intensively searched the vehicle and areas around it. Our team is making efforts to pull out the bodies from the gorge,” SDRF media in-charge Lalita Negi said.
The vehicle was said to be heading towards Kimana village from Joshimath, according to officials.
Upon receiving an alert, the SDRF team from Joshimath post was rushed to the spot. Another SDRF team from Pandukeshwar was also immediately dispatched to the accident site.
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has expressed grief over the accident, and announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased. He has also ordered a magisterial probe into the accident.
Chamoli district magistrate Himanshu Khurana, superintendent of police Pramendra Dobhal and other senior officials are at the accident site.