PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ New Tehri
Eight persons returning from last rites of a relative in Haridwar were killed and two were injured when the Bolero Camper vehicle they were travelling in fell about 300 metres down the mountainside near Nail on the Chamba-Koti Colony Road in Tehri district on Thursday. Those in the vehicle were returning from the last rites of Ghansali area’s Chakreda village resident Sampat Lal Santu. The driver of the vehicle is reported to have lost control of the vehicle near Nail, causing it to fall down a deep gorge. One of those killed in the mishap is reported to be the son of Santu. According to officials, seven of those killed in the mishap have been identified while one is yet to be identified. The injured have been identified as Uttam Kumar (30) and Ankit (22). They were taken to the nearest hospital. All the people are from different villages in the Ghansali area.
The district disaster management officer Brijesh Bhatt said that 10 people were travelling in the ill-fated vehicle. According to the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), all the passengers were said to be residents of Ghansali and were returning from Haridwar after attending a last rites ceremony.
After receiving information about the mishap, police and rescue teams reached the spot quickly and started a rescue operation. The district magistrate Nitika Khandelwal also reached the spot to take stock of the rescue operation.
Meanwhile, the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed deep grief over the accident and directed the administrative officials to complete the rescue operation at the earliest and provide proper treatment to the injured.
