At least 11 people were killed and two others seriously injured in two separate road accidents in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal and Rudraprayag districts within 24 hours, officials said on Thursday.
Tehri Garhwal Accident
Eight people died and two were critically injured after a utility vehicle carrying around 10 passengers plunged nearly 300 meters into a gorge on the Chamba-Koti Nala road in Tehri Garhwal. The victims were returning to Ghansali after attending last rites in Rishikesh. The accident occurred under Chamba police station limits, with the alert received through the Dial 112 control room.
“Police, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and fire service teams rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation,” said Brijesh Bhatt, district disaster management officer. Officials said four bodies were brought to the roadside, while efforts continued to retrieve the remaining victims from the deep gorge.
Seven of the victims have been identified as residents of Ghansali. They include Asha Lal (40), Vijay Lal (36), Prem Lal (60), Mahavir (60), Shiv Singh (35), Sehat Lal (65) and Laxman (33), most of whom hailed from Chakreda and nearby villages under Ghansali police station limits. One victim remains unidentified, a district official said.
The injured were identified as Uttam (30), a resident of Lostu village in Badiyargarh, and Ankit (22) from Nelchami village in Ghansali. Both have been admitted to the district hospital in Baurari for treatment. The district magistrate and senior superintendent of police, Tehri Garhwal, also reached the site to oversee rescue operations. A medical team from CHC Chamba was deployed at the spot to provide immediate care.
Rudraprayag Accident
In a separate incident in Rudraprayag district on the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, three people were killed after a car fell into a nearly 250-meter-deep gorge on the Bhiri-Kakola motor road. The vehicle, travelling from Bhiri towards Auring, lost control before plunging off the road.
An SDRF team from Agastyamuni, led by sub-inspector Dharmendra Pawar, carried out rescue operations under difficult conditions. The victims were identified as Naveen Singh (30) from Auring and Amit Singh (35) and Anshul (28), both residents of Sursal. Their bodies were later retrieved from the gorge.
Authorities said rescue and recovery operations in both incidents were carried out in coordination with local police and the district administration.
