Himachal: Tourist vehicle falls into gorge; 7 dead, 10 injured
What's the story
At least seven persons died and 10 others were injured on Sunday night after a tourist vehicle plummeted into a gorge in Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh, PTI reported.
According to reports, the accident occurred at around 8:30 pm on National Highway 305 near Ghiyaghi in the Banjar subdivision.
The victims reportedly hailed from various states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Delhi, among others.
Statement
What did officials say?
According to Surender Shourie, the BJP MLA from Banjar, the injured were rushed to a Banjar hospital for preliminary treatment, and some were later shifted to the Kullu Zonal Hospital for advanced treatment.
Shourie said the injured persons are currently being identified.
Deputy Commissioner of Kullu District Ashutosh Garg told CNN-News18 that there were 17 persons in the tourist vehicle, including the driver.
Twitter Post
Images from the incident shared on Twitter
HP | 7 people killed 10 others injured after a tourist vehicle rolled down from a cliff at 8:30pm yesterday on NH-305 in Ghiyagi area of Banjar Valley in Kullu. 5 injured are shifted to Zonal hospital, Kullu 5 are under treatment at Banjar in a hospital: Gurdev Singh SP Kullu pic.twitter.com/FX7GPxQq7T
— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2022
Details
Rescue operations carried out through the night
According to Kullu Superintendent of Police, Gurdev Singh, the administration carried out rescue efforts throughout the night.
However, rescue teams faced difficulty in pulling out the victims from the badly damaged car.
He said the majority of the injured were sent to the Kullu hospital.
Officials told IANS that the cause of the road accident is yet to be ascertained.
Information
PM Modi expresses his condolences
Following the incident, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives and extended his condolences to the kin of the deceased. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) also tweeted that all possible help was being provided to the injured.
Twitter Post
Tweet by Prime Minister's Office in Hindi
हिमाचल प्रदेश के कुल्लू में टूरिस्ट वाहन के खाई में गिरने की घटना अत्यंत दुखदायी है। इस दुर्घटना में जिन्होंने अपनों को खो दिया है, उनके परिजनों के प्रति मैं गहरी संवेदना प्रकट करता हूं। इसके साथ ही घायलों की हरसंभव मदद की जा रही है। उनके शीघ्र स्वस्थ होने की कामना करता हूं: PM
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 26, 2022
Similar incident
16 died in similar accident in Kullu two months ago
To recall, on July 4, 16 people—including school children—died in a similar accident when the bus they were traveling in fell into a gorge.
Notably, this incident also took place in Kullu. The bus landed upside down due to which many passengers got trapped.
PM Modi had announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs. 2 lakh for the deceased and Rs. 50,000 to those injured.