Tehri Garhwal (Uttarakhand) [India], April 23 : After a vehicle fell into a deep gorge in Uttarakhand's Tehri Garhwal district on Thursday, claiming eight lives, District Magistrate Nitika Khandelwal said that the preliminary assessment suggests the accident may have been caused after the driver fell asleep.
"In the accident that occurred between Chamba and Koti, what we are observing is that they had departed from here early in the morning at 5:00 AM from the District Hospital to take the deceased for their last rites, and they were returning on the exact same day. So, it seems probable that the driver was feeling sleepy or dozed off, as the vehicle suddenly took a turn and plunged into the gorge. There are no other signs visible, so this is our initial assessment. We have recovered all the bodies, their post-mortems are being conducted, and their families have been informed," DM Khandelwal told ANI.
Tehri Garhwal Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shweta Chaubey said that the police received information about the accident around 2:30 pm through the 112 emergency service.
"Around 2:30 PM, our 112 emergency service received a report stating that a vehicle had fallen into a gorge. Acting on this information, our police force from the Chamba Police Stationalong with our SDRF team and Fire Services unitimmediately rushed to the scene. A rescue operation was launched without delay. During this operation, we successfully rescued two injured individuals and sent them to Burari Hospital; additionally, the bodies of the remaining eight individualswho had unfortunately succumbed to their injurieshave also now been brought to Burari Hospital," SSP Chaubey said.
Speaking on the incident, Ghansali MLA Shakti Lal Shah said the victims were returning from Haridwar at the time of the incident and that the identification of the deceased is underway.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "These individuals were returning from Haridwar. Two injured are currently in stable condition; I am hopeful that, by God's grace, they will survive. We have recovered eight bodies from the scene. The entire administrative machinery was mobilised to the site. We have sent all the bodies to the hospital. We are currently in the process of identifying the victims and determining their places of origin."
According to the Tehri district administration, the vehicle plunged nearly 300 metres deep near Nail on the Chamba-Koti road in Chamba block.
The injured have been brought to District Hospital Baurari, where Dr Amit Rai, CMS of DH Baurari, informedthat they are undergoing treatment and are reported to be out of danger.
Earlier, taking to X, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami wrote, "We have received the extremely distressing news of a vehicle accident on the Nail-Koti Colony route under the Chamba area of Tehri Garhwal district. I pray to God that the souls of those who lost their lives in the accident attain a place at His divine feet, and that He grant strength to the bereaved families to endure this immense sorrow."
"Instructions have been issued to the district administration for the proper treatment of the injured and prayed for their speedy recovery. I pray to Baba Kedar for the swift recovery of the injured," he added.
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