All 10 passengers die after SUV falls into gorge in Pithoragarh

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his condolences.

Police and revenue officials had reached the accident site soon after getting information about the incident. (Representational Photo)

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All 10 people travelling in an SUV died after the vehicle skidded off the road and fell into a gorge at Hokra village in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district on Thursday morning.

The incident took place at around 9.30 am when the road was wet due to continuous rain over the previous few hours. The passengers, including a newlywed couple, were on their way to the Hokra Devi temple in the Munsiyari area. According to sources, heavy rain on the previous night had caused boulders and debris to fall on the road in the area, creating traffic bottlenecks.

“The incident took place around 9.30 am when all 10 passengers were on their way to the temple from Shama in Bageshwar district. There has been heavy rain since last night, and because of that, the road was slippery, probably causing the driver to lose control. However, we cannot say for sure what happened as there is no survivor or eyewitness to the incident,” Pithoragarh District Magistrate Reena Joshi said Thursday.

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Police and revenue officials had reached the accident site soon after getting information about the incident. A State Disaster Response Force team also arrived and an operation was started to recover the bodies.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami expressed his condolences.

“Have received very sad news about several deaths in an accident involving a vehicle coming from Shama in Bageshwar towards Nachni in Pithoragarh. A rescue team has been dispatched to the spot for relief and rescue work. I pray to God to give peace to the departed souls. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti,” Dhami said in a Twitter post written in Hindi.

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