8 dead as vehicle carrying body for cremation falls into gorge in Nainital

Dhirendra Gunjyal, senior superintendent of police, Champawat said around 18 men were in the vehicle that was taking the Khima Devi’s body for cremation from Mirtoli village in Barakot to Rameshwar Ghat.

Eight people died when a vehicle they were travelling in met with an accident and fell into a 300-metre deep gorge in Champawat district’s Barakot area on Sunday. The deceased were taking the body of a woman for cremation when the accident took place.

Eight people died when a vehicle they were travelling in met with an accident and fell into a 300-metre deep gorge in Champawat district’s Barakot area on Sunday.(ANI/Twitter)

Three others who were seriously injured in the accident have been airlifted on a helicopter from Champawat’s Lohaghat to Susheela Tiwari Government Hospital at Haldwani for treatment, said Manoj Pande, coordinator, District Disaster Management Committee, Champawat.

The accident took place around 45 kilometres from the district headquarters.

Dhirendra Gunjyal, senior superintendent of police, Champawat said around 18 men were in the vehicle that was taking the Khima Devi’s body for cremation from Mirtoli village in Barakot to Rameshwar Ghat.

“On the way the vehicle fell into a 300-metre gorge, killing six people on the spot and injuring 12. The injured were rushed to the community health centre at Lohaghat where two more succumbed to their injuries, taking the total death toll to 8. All accident victims are men. Three seriously injured have been airlifted through a helicopter from Lohaghat to Haldwani”, he said.

Gunjyal said the bodies were being brought out from the gorge by local police, ITBP and members of the State Disaster Response Force. “It is a deep gorge. The rescue team is facing a lot of challenges to get them out from the difficult incline”, he said.