Five killed, two injured after their vehicle falls into deep gorge in Himachal's Shimla

Shimla: Five people were killed and two others suffered injuries when their vehicle fell into a deep gorge here on Monday, police said.

The deceased have been identified as Joginder Singh (driver), a resident of Khaula village, and Rajesh, Ekender Shahi, Laxmi and Dil Bahadur, natives of Nepal. The injured included Nev Bahadur and Sajjan, Laxmi's husband.

Preliminary investigations reveal that the driver lost control of the vehicle and it fell into a deep gorge, killing three people on the spot.

The fourth person, Laxmi, succumbed to her injuries later in hospital.

Another passenger, Dil Bahadur, who suffered serious injuries and was referred to Indira Gandhi Medical College, Hospital, died during treatment.

The other two injured persons were discharged from the Community Health Centre, Kotkhai, after treatment.

A case of causing death by negligence under section 106 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered, and further investigations are underway, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Theog Siddhart Sharma told PTI.

The bodies have been sent for postmortem, and the family members of the deceased have been informed, the police said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, in a statement, expressed grief over the accident and said that the government stands with aggrieved families. He assured them of all possible assistance them.

Education Minister Rohit Thakur, who is also the local MLA from Kotkhai, has condoled the loss of lives in the tragic road accident.

In a statement issued here, Thakur expressed his sympathies with the bereaved families and prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.