11 killed, 4 injured as vehicle falls into gorge in India’s Uttarakhand

NEW DELHI: OCT. 31 – At least 11 people were killed and four others injured Sunday after a vehicle skidded off the mountainous road and fell into a gorge in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, officials said.

The accident took place in Chakrata tehsil of Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand, an official at Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority told Xinhua.

According to the official, rescuers and police teams have reached the spot to carry out rescue operations.

Police said the ill-fated vehicle was going from Byla village of Bharam Khat of Chakrata to Vikasnagar when the driver suddenly lost control over the vehicle.

The injured were immediately removed to the nearest hospital.

Police have registered a case and ordered an investigation to ascertain the cause of the accident.

Deadly road accidents are common in India often caused due to overloading, bad condition of roads and reckless driving.

Around 150,000 people are killed every year in around half a million road accidents across India, officials said.

-Xinhua