Eight killed, two injured as pick-up jeep falls into gorge in Uttarakhand's Nainital

SSP Nainital Prahlad Narayan Meena said that the vehicle was on its way towards Haldwani when the driver lost control on the vehicle which fell into a gorge on Chhirakhan-Reetha Sahib motor road.

Uttarakhand: In a tragic road accident, eight people were killed while two others were injured after a pick-up jeep skidded off the road and fell into a ditch in Nanital district of Uttarakhand on Friday, police said. Superintendent of Police Nainital Prahlad Narayan Meena confirmed the death of the eight people in the accident adding that two others have been injured and have been shifted to the hospital for treatment.

SSP Nainital said that the accident took place on Chhirakhan-Reetha Sahib motor road in Nainital district today morning while the pick up jeep was on way from Nainital towards Haldwani. The SSP said that the driver of the jeep lost control of the vehicle on Chheerakhan-Reetha Sahib motor road after which the vehicle fell into a 500 meter deep gorge.

The local villagers were the first to report to the administration. The locals said that after hearing the jeep falling into the ditch and the screams of the passengers in it, they immediately rushed to the accident spot to launch a rescue operation. Later, a PRD jawan named Naveen informed the local police and the civil administration about the accident after which local authorities joined the rescue operation.

SSP Nainital Prahlad Narayan Meena said that eight people were killed in the accident while two others have been injured. The deceased include Dhani Devi, aged 38, a resident of Dalkanya village, Tulsi Prasad, 35 years old, a resident of Dalkanya village, Rama Devi, aged 26 years, Tarun Paneru aged 5 years, Naresh Paneru aged 26 years and Devidutt aged 51 years, both residents of Dalkanya village, Shivraj Singh age 25 years and Naresh Singh aged 20 years, both residents of Aghoda village.

The injured have been identified as Rajendra Paneru, aged 36 years, and Hemchandra Paneru, aged 39 years, residents of Dalkanya village. The SSP said that Nainital Police and the SDRF jontly carried out the rescue operation. Local residents said that the road accident happened at around 8 am on Friday morning.