PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
Four people were killed after a car abruptly went off track and fell into a deep gorge on Jharipani Road in Mussoorie on Wednesday morning, officials said. The accident took place near Barlowganj when a car reportedly suffered a brake failure while being driven down a steep slope, Mussoorie police circle officer Ankit Kandari said.
The CO said that information about the accident was received through the 112 control room at around 9:16 AM. A police team from Mussoorie police station reached the accident site. State Disaster Response Force, Fire Service and 108 ambulance teams were also called in due to the seriousness of the incident. A joint rescue operation was launched in the difficult terrain.
The rescue teams worked for several hours to reach the vehicle and extricate the bodies of the victims from the gorge. The deceased have been identified as Satyaprakash, a resident of Sonipat in Haryana, 19-year-old Manit from Ghaziabad, Savita (48) from Ghaziabad and Sangeeta (46) from Karolbagh in Delhi.
Local residents told police that the occupants of the car had stopped at a nearby shop shortly before the accident. They had reportedly informed shopkeepers that they were returning from Uttarkashi. As soon as they got back into the vehicle, it suddenly began rolling downhill at high speed. The car went out of control, crossed an empty plot and plunged into a gorge nearly 500 metres deep.
Police, SDRF and Fire Service personnel jointly recovered the bodies and brought them to the roadside. The bodies have been sent for further legal formalities. “We have informed the families of the deceased and further investigation into the accident is underway,” Kandari said.
